House of Twisted Ever Afters
by Reade-Queen-Of-Versailles
Summary: Modern AU: After being seperated from her father and being labelled as 'mad', Madeline Hatter is sent to the Grimm House for the Mentally Unstabled. Inside, many other teens with mental illnesses are kept out of trouble by the house owner, Milton Grimm. But Milton has something up his sleeve to destroy them all…
1. The House

**Chapter 1**

 **The House**

 **Hey guys! Wanted to post this some time ago. Thanks to Emma8916 for some minor ideas!**

Madeline felt scared and alone for the first time in her life. She didn't know where her loving dad was, and no one else she knew had even looked at her since the incident. Ghosts, spiders, snakes, and demons didn't frighten her, but this did.

When someone is sitting in the back seat of a limo, they usually feel at an advantage. Smug, perhaps. But Madeline felt nothing but foreboding and fear. The leather seat was cold, and the windows were shaded such a dark black colour that she couldn't see anything outside.

The only she could do was clutch the large turquoise duffel bag that carried her very little belongings. Important things like clothing and things she cherished. Everything else she had left behind, in the little, abandoned haberdashery.

"You're here," the chauffeur grunted gruffly in a low gravelly voice. Muttering a meek thank you, Madeline opened the door and slid out of her seat, watching as the limo - her key to driving away from this place - slipped and disappeared into the horizon. It was gone for good.

Emitting a sigh, she turned to face her future home - and enormous, mansion-like Victorian building with aged grey walls and a dark blue tiled roof. Huge, arched windows with matching blue curtains were pressed into the crumbling structure, flickering with shadows as people passed.

Iron spiked gates surrounded bushy, trimmed undergrowth and skeletal trees. A fountain of graceful swans, now run dry and cracked, stood in the middle of the courtyard, in the centre of a dark grey brick path that led to a flight of stairs leading to the redwood front door, which was flanked by two ivy-covered pillars.

"Home sweet home," Madeline murmured melancholically, her aqua-and-violet curls pressing into her cheek as harsh winter winds blew against her tiny frame, as if daring her to run. Away from this house, away from captivity, away from fear.

Yet she did not move, neither to the house or back into the streets. She had nowhere to go, and this place was her only sanctuary for a long time.

Giving a decisive yet dejected nod, she grasped the handle of her bag tighter and started towards the entrance of building.

Wide-eyed gargoyles eyed her from the rooftops, their misshappen shapes and demonic grins making her flinch. Her flats echoed on the cold marble as she prepared to knock.

"HELLO!"

"Aargh!'

The door flung open to reveal a petite, angelic looking blonde in a tight, glittery red dress and white turtleneck sweater. Dark rings framed her dazzling blue eyes as she grinned strangely and clasped her cold hand over Madeline's.

"Apple White, dearie!"

Madeline said nothing. Apple (if that was her name, as the girl had said) was beautiful, sure, but their was something twisted and ugly about her red-lipped smile, forced and manicacal.

She took back her hand. "I'm Madeline," she said in the most polite way she could muster. Apple laughed. "What a ridiculous name!" she cried.

"Yeah, and Apple isn't a weird name," Madeline whispered irritatably to herself.

"What was that, hun?"

"Nothing."

Apple laughed again, the sound disturbing and alienic. "Well, I'm sure you said something. Or else I wouldn't have heard it!" She ran a hand over her alarmingly pale skin sensually. "Would you like an apple, sweetheart?"

It was only then when Madeline realised that a woven basket handle was strung on Apple's snow-white forearm, revealing unnaturally red apples nestled on top of a pale pink cloth.

Madeline was hungry, having had no breakfast. "Thank you," she said quietly as she reached for the fruit.

Suddenly, Apple released a high-pitched, ear-shattering scream. "What are you DOING?" she shouted, grabbing Madeline's wrist and squeezing it with an alarming force.

"I…"

"These are MY apples!" Apple continued as she started to cry. "You thief! Greedy bigot!"

With that, she slapped Madeline across the face and ran, disappearing into the darkness as her shoulders rattled with each audible sob. The blow wasn't relatively hard, but Madeline had fallen over at the shock of it. She clutched her bruising cheek and felt even more frightened than before, afraid of the other terrible sick-minded fiends inside.

"Are you alright?"

Madeline jumped and looked up to see a comely girl with smiling, deep brown eyes and thick curls that matched. Her hair was streaked with hot pink highlights and twisted into a loose braid. A rose clip was pinned to her hair, and she wore a matching summer dress and black stilettos. "Newbie, huh?"

"Y-Yeah," Madeline managed, still shaken from Apple's outburst. The brunette helped her up, sighing at her swollen cheek. "And to think I was once friends with her," she muttered almost silently.

"Well, welcome to the House of Twisted Ever Afters," she laughed, shaking Madeline's hand.

"House of Twisted Ever Afters?"

"Well, that's what it is; to me, anyway. It's really called The Grimm House for the Mentally Unstable. Like an asylum. But less…asylum-ish."

The girl shook her head. "Why are you here?"

Madeline cocked her head to the side in questioning.

"At the House, I mean."

"Oh." Madeline laughed, a genuine one that made the girl smile. "Well, I was born with naturally aqua-and-violet hair, and my dad and I run a really colourful tea shop."

"That's it?" the girl asked, clearly pissed.

"Yeah." Madeline shrugged. "And I suppose I am a bit…odd…so they sent me here."

"Ugh. People these days…" She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Well, I'm here because I have sleeping beauty syndrome."

"Which is…"

"Sleeping days or weeks without waking up. I also have belonephobia."

Madeline was surprised. These 'mental problems' that the girl had could be easily fixed in the normal world.

"Wow. I can't believe they just sent you to this place."

The girl smiled. "I like you. Consider me your first friend."

Madeline grinned, then gasped as another person appeared out of nowhere, right in front of her. The newcomer had lavender corkscrew ringlets held back by a cat-ear headband, as well as ripped jeans, ankle boots, and an oversized purple t-shirt with a toothy smile on it.

"You must be Madeline Hatter. I'm Catherine Cheshire, your roommate. I'm here to show you around. I see you've already met Briar. Come on, I'll take you to our room."

Madeline paused for a minute at Catherine's outspoken and blunt wording, then nodded. "Okay. Bye, Briar."

She waved goodbye at the taller girl and followed her roommate as Briar left adruptly.

The entire interior of the House was in panelled redwood walls and matching floorboards. The foyer was a small room, with an umbrella rack and a few pegs. The only visible way into the main building was a flight of stairs. The stairs led into a huge room, scattered with mismatched couches and armchairs, with a large coffee table, brick fireplace, and lamps littered in every nook and cranny.

Teens were lounging about the furniture, reading from the ornate bookshelves lining the walls, chatting quietly amongst themselves, or looking out of the window. It seemed nice and cozy enough.

The people she saw looked different from the people she lived among in her town. Some looked beautiful, but had twisted expressions, like Apple; some looked normal like Briar; some were too skinny or too fat; and others seemed to have an animal theme, like Catherine.

Two large doors were tucked into two seperate corners of the room, one dark fushcia and the other marble blue. Madeline followed Catherine into the fushcia one, which led up to another flight of stairs and into a large corridor.

What first seemed like random rectangular holes in the sides of the corridor were really other passages leading to each person's room they shared with someone else. Kitty went up to a passage that was surprisingly and comfortably short.

The doors were just a curtain of beaded strings, hundreds of them. Catherine pushed a couple aside and allowed Madeline to enter first.

The room was small, but spacious enough. Two single beds armed with a bedside table each sat agaisnt one wall, with twin dressers on the opposite, a floor-length mirror stuck between the dressers. A wooden door that Madeline confidently assumed was the bathroom sat on the right wall, while another bead-curtained door was on the left wall.

"Come," Catherine said. "We should talk."

She opened the curtained door to reveal a study room of sorts - two walls lined with bookshelves, the other wall sporting a large arched window. A snug circular desk was in the middle, with two swivel chairs facing each other and a lamp. A large folder was perched precariously atop the smooth wooden surface.

Catherine pulled out a chair for Madeline to sit down, then poured a cup of tea from a hidden kettle behind a pile of books. Madeline accepted the teacup gratefully and inhaled the fragrance of the beverage. It warmed her hands as she took a sip, with turned into a gulp.

"You like it, don't you?" Catherine laughed, flashing her a strange yet wonderful grin. "Earl Grey. One of my favourites."

Madeline nodded, finishing the drink, and set it down. "So…what are we here to talk about?" she asked, resting her head on her elbows.

Catherine immediately sobered up, grasping the folder. "You see," she said slowly. "I'm going to introduce you to Grimm House. It's not what you expected."

She flipped open the folder to the first file. It was labelled 'Members' and had photographs and documents. The first was a large group photo of many teens, with grim expressions and dark clothing. Madeline spotted Briar, Apple, and Catherine among others. Each teen was circled with either pink, blue, purple, or golden permanent marker.

"These are all the house members this year," Catherine explained. Madeline recongized the majority of people from the lounge room. They seemed drabber in the photograph.

"I used the colours to sort into groups. Pink is Unnatural Obsessionists."

Catherine pointed out the seperate Obsessionists. "That's Apple, who's totally creepy and has an obsession for apples. And her name is her favourite food, which is weird…other than that, she's so kind it's impossible."

Madeline followed Catherine's finger to a strawberry-blonde girl with a kind face but alarming eyes. "That's Ashlynn. She's obsessed with shoes."

"Then there's Daring, who's obsessed with himself. He has Narcissic Sydrome, which - yes - is a real thing. He's literally in love with himself. I'm being serious."

"Sparrow's here because he's obsessed with stealing, a kleptomaniac."

"Blue is the Animal Group. That's me, Bunny, Hopper, Duchess, Rosabella, and Cerise. I'm here because my mum is loves cats so much, she fed me cat food for every meal. I also like catching mice and playing with a ball of yarn, which probably isn't natural…Bunny is…see if you can guess. Yeah. Rabbit. She also digs holes everywhere and has underground rooms and stuff. Hopper, nervous guy who thinks he's gonna turn into a frog, and Duchess who might be a swan. Cerise is convinced she's part werewolf. Maybe she is. Everyone says that her ears aren't normal."

"And Rosabella…" Madeline looked at the picture of a bright-eyed brunette with a yellow headband and rectangular glasses. "She's Briar's cousin, and people say…she's into Bestiality and has Stockholm Syndrome. But we don't know for sure."

Madeline shivered.

"Purple is the mismatched. People who don't really have a group. Cedar, that girl there, can't tell a lie," Catherine introduced.

"She can't or she won't?" Madeline asked.

"Can't," Catherine replied. "She has a rare brain function that stops her from telling lies, and she doesn't really act human… And Briar…you've met her. Darling Charming, sister of Daring, who's too rebellious and adventurous for her own good and was sent here as a punishment. That, and also her mum was at the hospital to check on a relative and she saw Darling almost - almost undergo and surgery to get transgendered, but she stopped it in time. But Darling already had a boyfriend! Chase Redford, Darling's boyfriend, who goes on punching sprees. But only five times a year at the MOST. Lizzie, Chase's twin, with SERIOUS anger management issues. Hunter Huntsman, who rips off his shirt and plays hero when anyone trips or whatever."

Catherine rolled her eyes; it was then when Maddie realised how catlike they were. Golden irises and slitted pupils. And Catherine's teeth were pointy, but not as much as a wolf's or shark's: more like a lion, or a leopard.

"And golden? Stands for the weirdos! Alistair is convinced there's a secret, crazy land underneath our's called Wonderland. Some strange mental disorder, I should say. Raven Queen-"

Raven's hair was the colour of her name, with violet eyes and darker purple lips. She looked like the type of person who would poison you with an apple, but she also looked gentle and mysterious.

"-Who's rumoured to be into withcraft. Blondie Lockes, total pain in the ass. She always wakes up in the middle of the night screaming that she's being chased by bears. She has really severe OCD and is nosy to an extreme rate."

Madeline nodded, absorbing in all the information that had been tossed into her head for the past ten minutes (courtesy of Catherine), but was drawn in by the interesting disorders her fellow housemates-to-be possessed. Catherine had filled her head with questions and Madeline wanted answers.

"What about you?" Catherine half-purred.

Madeline paused. "What?"

"Well, why are you here?" Catherine pressed. She leaned in, and Madeline instinctively scooted back a little. Her feline roommate seemed to take no notice in Madeline's discomfort; in fact, the move made her smile.

"I was naturally born with brightly coloured hair, and the tea shop that me and my dad run is…unique," Madeline explained, as she had told Briar before.

"Hmm…" Catherine leaned back and rested her booted feet on the table, ignoring Madeline's pointed look. "Curiouser and curiouser," she drawled. "Is that all?" She cocked an eyebrow inquisitively.

Madeline nodded. At least, what she had assumed. Everyone had thought that her hair was dyed and looked at her strangely when she had said it was natural. Many people had also left her father's teahouse looking dazed and disoriented, and she wouldn't be surprised if the locals had accused her father for adding something illicit to the tea.

"I suppose…"

Catherine shrugged. She had seen worse - yet she said nothing.

"Hmm. The world is turning darker," she announced in a sad voice that sounded wiser and more mature, and didn't match her appearance and smile.

Madeline paused and stared into Catherine's eyes, which were downcast and nostalgic - and something in Madeline clicked.

"You lost your family to the people who banished you here," she said quietly. "That's why you've been so bitter, right? And that's why you've seperated all the House members into groups. Because you need to know who to trust, and not make the same mistake."

Catherine glanced up, surprised. Shocked. Scared, even.

"How did you know?" she whispered.

Madeline closed her eyes, catching the faint memories of her mother.

She had straight hair. It was aqua, with a violet streak through it. Her skin was pale and her blue eyes laughed in a way that no one's mouth could. She was short, like Madeline, and equally giggly and eccentric.

"You're not the only one, Catherine," she responded, reopening her eyes.

Catherine smiled: not the smile that was too fake and cheery, or a smile that was strained. A genuine, happy smile.

And then she smirked.

"Call me Kitty."

—

Cerise hated the bell - it hurt her sensitive canine ears. Apparantly, the House Keeper Milton Grimm thought that 'refreshing' music (aka a toddler banging on a piano) was a better substitute for the lunch bell.

And the dinner bell.

And the breakfast bell. And the wake-up bell. And the bedtime bell (ridiculous to have one, since half of the house members were already asleep by the time the 'bedtime bell' rang, so it just served as a jolted-out-of-terrific-dream bell).

Anyway, by the time that the hideous, out-of-tune, appregios started, everyone groaned, sighed, or covered their ears and started heading towards the dining hall. Which was really just a fancy name for 'tacky meal room'.

Cerise started towards the door, everyone else flooding through. She took her usual seat on the stupidly long, redwood table (which clashed horribly with the golden candlebras), at the very end of it, seperated from everyone else. Cerise always was a lone wolf - no pun intended.

She watched as her ex-boyfriend flirted with Apple, his golden hair glinting in the light, his eyes shining like -

Cerise growled and shook her head. There was no way she was going to fall for his charms. Not after what happened.

Lunch was ridiculous. A cheese-and-bacon roll with potato garden salad and cordial that tasted like dialuted urine. Like always. As Cerise gazed at the bacon hungrily, she noticed Ashlynn Ella eye the roll strangely.

As everyone took their seats, Cerise noticed a new kid sitting between Kitty and Briar. Cerise suddenly smiled: a rare thing for her. "Hey, Briar! Nice crownglasses!" she called. Briar laughed; everyone else seemed either confused or ignored it.

It was little inside joke of their's. Cerise had made it up eight months ago and they still used it:

 _Cerise was sitting on a bench near the picturesque beach. Yellow sand (literally yellow), deep blue waves, Apple flirting with a lifeguard. The usual scene at Mirror Beach._

 _Milton Grimm called it 'special field trips', but it wasn't exactly a field trip. And it was as special as his ass. Cerise pulled nervously on the hood of her red hoodie. Bikini-clad girls eyed her weirdly, as if they were questioning why she was wearing a hoodie in this weather._

 _Ignoring their looks, Cerise contentrated on staring at her boyfriend, Daring Charming, who was surfing expertly in nothing but blue board shorts, on a rented navy-coloured board. Cerise sighed - Daring was freakin' hot. And a real romantic under those shiny pectorals._

 _Daring caught her eye and winked. Cerise awkwardly waved back, and Daring chuckled, making Cerise's heart skip a beat or two._

 _"You and my cousin are secretly dating, aren't you?"_

 _Cerise jumped: she hadn't noticed Briar standing before her. The brunette smiled quirkily; like Daring. And Dexter. Cerise didn't say anything for a long time - she was too shocked._

 _"Don't worry, your secret's safe with me."_

 _"But…H-How did…"_

 _Briar shrugged. "I'm smart, I suppose." Cerise agreed on that fact. Briar and Dexter were really smart. While Daring was egotistic. But thoughtful, oh so thoughtful…_

 _Cerise blinked, blushing at the thought. She realised that Briar was still looking at her, amused. The hoodie-wearing girl looked for something to say._

 _She noticed the pink sunglasses perched on top of Briar's curly head. They were always perched up there, and extremely elaborate. In fact, it kind of looked like a retro crown…_

 _"Nice crownglasses," Cerise blurted randomly._

As she chuckled to herself, Cerise noticed that the entire room had fallen silent. Not a sound, not a breath. It was so silent that her wolf ears were burning.

In the doorway was Raven, a gothlike girl. Her hair was in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. A silver headband was sitting on her violet head. Her clothes consisted of a black gothic punk tank crop with a fishnet turtleneck and sleeves, a silver belt around her waist, black leggings, and black ankle boots with silver spikes. Silver bangles, necklaces, and earrings were making Raven's neck, ears, and arms rather shiny. A silver chain was wrapped around her torso and right leg, a tattoo of a crow of her left wrist. She had a nose piercing and a belly button piercing too. A black velvet purse dangled from her crossed arms.

Everyone was petrified of Raven, after all she was probably evil. She had tried to stab her roommate Apple twice and now the alienated beauty was terrified of the goth. The house members stared in fear as Raven's heels clicked on the floor as she walked around to Cerise. Eighteen heads turned as she sat down and tightened her belt casually.

Raven looked up and gazed at the onlookers. Suddenly standing up, she screamed two words at the top of her lungs:

" _Oxtsfallis Rectapunefylis_!"

Immediately, the students started chatting amiably and normally, as if nothing happened. Raven slumped back down and started to boredly examine her nails and Cerise gawped.

"Hi," Raven said, looking up.

Cerise stared.

Raven took a bite of her cheese and bacon roll before gagging. She took out a packet of purple tablets from her handbag and swallowed two at the same time. Noticing that Cerise was looking in disgust at her own food, Raven took out a box of salted caramals and placed them in front of Cerise.

"Have some," she offered.

"It's okay," Cerise replied, reaching a hand inside her hood and rubbing her ear to calm herself down. She was afraid of Raven, very afraid.

"Don't worry, I didn't poison them or anything," Raven said, then laughed at her own bland joke. The fact that she had mentioned that they weren't poisoned made Cerise slightly paranoid.

Raven paused and frowned as Cerise didn't take any. She hastily took the box back and popped two in her mouth before putting in back in her purse and leaving the room, leaving Cerise real damn confused.

—

Briar walked around the gardens, having nothing better to do. Briar was a smart girl, she liked to think and she liked to be right, which she was most of the time. Her curious brain whizzed as she thought.

Milton Grimm was acting weirdly suspicious lately, oddly suspicious. Terribly suspicious. Maybe she was paranoid, maybe she was correct in her observations. Very likely the latter.

Briar walked into the grassy oval, where she saw a huge burrow-like hole, definitely Alastair and Bunny's doing. Several disturbing moans, pants and grunts were coming up from said hole. An abandoned shovel and several discarded clothes were scattered around the burrow. Briar recongised Bunny's fancy vest, nylon grey skirt and white button-up, along with Alastair's cream coloured shirt, cobalt blazer-like jacket and - disturbingly enough - his brown trousers.

"Alastair!" Bunny's voice cried in what seemed like ectasy.

"Bunny…" Alastair's voice grunted, and Briar tried not to listen.

"Ohhhh, ALASTAIR!" Bunny screamed.

That was it. Briar sprinted for her life, despite how many times she had heard their furious lovemaking, she never got over it. She suddenly felt like running - she ran along the entire border of the House before returning to her usual spot, the iris garden.

She sat down on a hard bench and thought. She thought about her friend Faybelle who had gone missing last week, just disappeared. They found her mutilated body down in the forest, where she had went. Faybelle had a mental disorder that made her think she could speak to ghosts.

Faybelle's death was heartbreaking. Briar had locked herself in her and Ashlynn's room for days and only came out on the promise of extra milk chocolate for Sunday Treat and the fact that she didn't need to go to therapy with Miss C.A. Cupid for a week.

Miss Cupid was a sweet woman with curly pink hair in a bun, and she always wore kitten heels, a pretty fuchsia dress under a white lab coat, and cat eye glasses. She was a therapist and assigned medicine for the House members.

Briar got up and started walking. She liked thinking better when she was walking. As she passed the oval again, to her relief, the disturbing noises had ceased and they had stopped altogether. Bunny and Alastair were now hacking up more of the turf a few metres away, Alastair basically destroying the ground with his shovel as Bunny dug enthusicasically with her hands.

Briar couldn't get over how odd they were. It was weird because Alastair had just arrived last fortnight and Bunny had ignored him for a week, until all of the sudden they were having sex in burrows and trying to dig up 'Wonderland'. Yet Briar couldn't help but feel that she kind of wanted a relationship too, definitely not one where she dug holes with some boy and had sex in there, but someone who she could rely on and trust, for once.

The sun was setting already. The day had gone by quickly, but not quick enough. She wanted to end her (what she called) 'life sentence' at this house.

In the distance, she saw Alastair and Bunny making out furiously and stripping each other of their clothes before they stumbled into the hole. It was extremely weird how they seemed to be productive for just a minute before they got seriously carried away with their libido.

"Well that escalated quickly," said a voice behind her.

Briar turned to see Hopper, a cute guy who was socially awkward like her cousin Dexter, who came for visits every day thanks to his sister Darling and brother Daring, as well as Briar herself. Hopper was nice, extremely sweet, but his mental disorder sort of disgusted Briar. Hopper always thought he would turn into a frog, which included fly eating, hopping, and croaking like a frog. Other than that though, he was the best.

"Hey Hopper," she greeted.

"Briar," Hopper replied, before smiling and staring at the ground like he was trying to hide his blush. "It's nice to see you."

"You too, I guess," Briar replied politely.

Hopper cleared his throat and stared behind her, his face the colour of his hair. "Um…is it weird that Bunny and Alastair are having…um…"

"Hardcore underground sex?" Briar finished bluntly, before wincing as a particulary loud cry of pleasure shattered her ears.

"S-Sure," answered the ever-innocent Hopper. He paused. "Um, do you mind if I speak to you for a minute?"

Briar opened her mouth to point out that he was speaking to her now but that would have seemed rude and impolite, and as Briar was raised up, ALWAYS be polite. Especially if the person you are talking to is pretty cool.

"Okay," she said instead, and Hopper lead her to a quiet part of the courtyard.

"Well, um, you're - you're smart and all, right?" he asked as soon as they were tucked in a small nook.

"Uh, I guess?" Despite how smart Briar was, she underestimated her own cleverness a lot.

"Well, uh, this is going to sound crazy."

"We live in a house of crazy."

"Well, I…" Hopper thought for a second. "This is going to sound particularly crazy."

"I won't vomit, slap you, or run away screaming," Briar promised, her usual oath when it came to craziness.

"I-I-I th-think…IthinkCookGingerlikesme," Hopper quickly blurted in one big jumble of words.

"Cook Ginger?"

Hopper nodded.

"As in, the Cook Ginger with the bright pink pigtails and huge round glasses?"

"Do you actually know any other Cook Ginger?"

"Admittedly not."

"Exactly."

Briar blinked for a second.

"Okay, elaborate," she said.

"Well, she usually gives me a bigger serving of everything," Hopper began, which made the brunette raise an eyebrow. "She also always compliments how nice my shirt looks, and how nice my hair is and stuff."

"So, you want to beat around the bush, compliment her and stuff," Briar instructed, while Hopper looked extremely confused.

"What?" he said.

"Well, and also tell her how nice her cooking is and everything," his companion added enthusically.

"Wait, wait, wait," Hopper interrupted. "I'm trying to make her NOT like me."

"Really, why?" Briar asked.

"Well…" Hopper's lip wobbled. He looked closed to tears. He turned pale. "Because of her great-uncle," he managed, before bursting into tears.

"Oh dear," said Briar, and put her arm around Hopper.

Because Ginger's great uncle was French, and so every Tuesday Ginger cooked frog's legs for supper.


	2. The Souls of the Unwanted

**Chapter 2**

 **The Souls of the Unwanted**

 **Hey, guys! I know what you're thinking: "Reade has posted a short chapter! Kill the beast!"**

 **Well, don't do that. Thank you.**

 **Anyway, I didn't rush this. I actually put a lot of thought into it. This is a bit of a supernatural story, so if you no likey, don't read.**

 **This chapter is for Murasakino-Chan (now did I spell that correct?). I do like making people laugh. I didn't know it would be funny, but…good to know it was! Now, you wanted an answer to what Grimm was up to? Well…this chapter…**

 **…**

 **…**

 **will make you want to know even more! Anyway, happy reading, guys!**

—

Raven walked along the dark hallway, her dark hair trailing along her back. A black nightgown framed her petite but fit form, a thin purple velvet dressing gown lined with black lace over the gown. Her bare feet grazed the carpet.

"Raven, what are you doing out this late?" a voice asked.

Raven turned to see Briar, her hair in a low braid, with a rose-patterned nightgown and a hot pink robe.

"I think the REAL question is, what are YOU doing out here this late?" Raven reprimanded.

Briar narrowed her eyes. "I can't sleep. Sleeping Beauty Syndrome does that to you. Now stop changing the subject and answer my question."

Raven raised her eyebrows. She was pretty daring for someone who lived in a house of people who were scared of Raven.

"I'm out here because, like you, I can't sleep. My mental disorder does that to you," Raven answered airily, waving her hand dissmissively.

"Liar," Briar answered immediately.

"And how?" Raven challenged, feeling sick.

"Firstly, if you weren't able to sleep night after night, you would have eye bags under your eyes. Secondly, your mental disorder is witchcraft. Thirdly, I see you every morning alert and awake. Lastly, I wander the halls every night but I never see you. It's Spring, and you have hayfever so you don't go outside. I know this because I saw eye drops and a packet of tissues fall out of your pocket," Briar answered.

Raven pressed her lips into a thin line. "Fine," she replied finally, as lying to Briar wouldn't help her in this situation. "I don't want to be in the same room as Apple." That was true, but not the reason she was really out. "Just go away."

"Alright," Briar scoffed disbelievingly, and seemingly disappeared.

Raven continued pacing evenly through the hallway.

"Ms Queen, what are you doing out so late?"

A stately voice made Raven freeze in her tracks. She turned to see Milton Grimm, looking extremely - again, no pun intended - grim. His face was set in an austere frown.

"Nothing," Raven replied quickly, but Grimm only responded by suddenly grabbing her forearm.

"Since you are out so late, I will take this chance to allow you to assist me in the most convinient of ways," he stated grandly. His voice, however, had a slight sickening tone to it that frightened Raven right down to her core.

"What do you mean?" she managed bravely.

"I know that you…specialise in witchcraft?" Grimm smirked in the most unfathomable of ways. "Know a few…spells? Evil…spells? To create fire in our eyes and tongues, to destroy?"

Raven cursed herself for telling Briar to get lost, for the wisecracking brunette could have helped her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Raven said. She didn't really.

"Of course you don't," Milton answered. "That is why we will teach you."

"We?"

"Now," Grimm interrupted, "firstly, we'll take you to get a few…bodily adjustments…" He chuckled sinisterly to himself.

Raven struggled as the house keeper dragged her along. Firstly, why was he acting like some sort of dramatic villain? Secondly, what did he mean by 'bodily adjustments'? And when did he plan all of this?

"What are you doing out this late, Raven?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" the black-haired girl muttered, but the sound of her roommate's voice had never been such music to her ears.

Turning around, Raven saw Apple, looking like a ghost. Her icy pale skin, black eye bags, and blood red lips puncuated her face, while her near-white hair almost blew behind her. Her satin nightgown trailed far behind her with the long train. A thin wax candle was clasped in one of her petite hands.

"Mr Grimm?" Apple said, her eyes widening. They probably couldn't get any wider.

"What's going on?" she lisped in her faux-gentle voice that she reserved for adults. She blinked innocently like she was an angel.

"Nothing at all, my dear," Grimm lied. "Raven was caught sneaking out in the middle of the night, that's all." Which she was.

"Oh," Apple answered. "Raven, you shouldn't—"

Raven held up her locket-chain. Apple stopped talking immediately. She only gently unhooked Raven from Grimm's grasp and marched her back into their room. When they returned, Apple sank into bed but lay awake, staring ominously at Raven as the ebony-haired girl smoothened her sheets.

Walking over, Raven gave a false smile and wavered a small metal object under Apple's nose. The blonde's eyes snapped closed and she was asleep in a second. Raven smiled, a real one this time, and held the object up to the little light there was - it was an apple-shaped charm, bright green.

"Poison apples," she sighed contentedly. "Works like a charm."

—

Briar wandered around the House. The night was dark, the cresent moon giving very little light. She shivered and wrapped her dressing gown tighter around her. She looked around and then stopped short.

There, along a stone wall, stood a row of peculiar people dressed in odd white robes that would've looked normal in ancient Grece.

One had bubblegum-pink curls. Another had a thick brown braid and tanned skin that was battered, bloodied and bruised. Yet another had a smooth chocolate complexion and platinum-blonde waves. She looked beautiful, but there was a hole - a literal hole - in her chest. Another girl, with misty-blue tendrils, was next to them.

All of them had hollow eye sockets.

The one with bubblegum-pink hair stepped up. "Who are you?" she asked. Her voice was light, melodic, but it sounded like her throat was full of water. And it apparantly was, because the second she opened her mouth, a large spew of seawater gushed out.

"I was about to ask the same," Briar answered, unnerved. "I'm Briar. Who are you four? And what happened to you?"

"We are the souls of the unwanted."

"The what?"

"We were killed," the brunette spoke up. Blood trickled down the edge of her lips. "By ourselves, perhaps, but he helped."

"So much help," the dark-skinned blonde added. "He was a murderer."

"Who was?" Briar asked frantically. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming or not - but the cold night air only proved she wasn't.

"The House Keeper in which you know," the pink-haired girl answered as another spew of water gushed out. "Milton Grimm is his name."

"The evil way he murdered us—" the brunette started.

"—He will kill and slaughter you all the same" the blonde finished.

"You can run, but you cannot hide!" Followed by more water out of her mouth. The pink-haired girl seemed to be the leader of the four.

"You'll never escape the demon inside…" This was the first time the girl with the blue hair had spoken. Her voice was quiet.

Briar was dumbstruck. "What am I supposed to do? What did he do to you all?"

"What he did seemed like we did it. Drowning, gunshot, poison, fall."

"Are you actually telling the truth?" Briar asked uncertainly.

"Look at us, our bodies are proof," the bloodied brunette responded. Briar admitted this was right. She stared at their empty eye sockets. The leader guessed what she was thinking.

"We are like this because we were blind."

"Blind to Grimm's plan in his mind."

Briar gulped. "How do I save everyone?" she asked.

"Briar, you're not normal," the blonde said. "You have the ability to save everyone. Even us."

"But to save you and your friends, we need your trust," the brunette spoke up. Briar considered this and then gazed into their eyeless, dead faces. They all looked sincere. She knew sincerity when she saw it.

"Okay," Briar answered. She was surprised when they actually meant it literally - the pink-haired girl leaned forward and reached out a hand into Briar's chest. Her hand went literally into her and re-emerged with a glowing golden-white orb. She broke off a bit of it.

"That's all the trust we'll need," she said as she replaced the rest of Briar's trust back in her chest. The pink-haired girl gave it to the small blonde, who licked a tiny bit of it. "Hmm. Pure, golden, shiny. Pretty secure," she calculated, before handing it back to her leader. Briar supposed it was the only way they could sense things, since the four couldn't see.

She was pretty surprised when the pink-haired girl broke the trust in half. She then stepped close to the girl misty-blue hair that hadn't talked much, then pressed the two smaller orbs into each eye socket. The blue-haired girl blinked experimentally and rubbed her head.

"Can you see now?" Briar asked as the girl stared ahead. But she only shook her head. "Only foretell. But I guess I can see the future."

That wasn't exactly what Briar meant, but she decided to drop it.

"Briar Avalanche Beauty, sixteen years old. Likes chocolate. Very smart, can bunjee jump. Once tried to skydive and broke her leg in the process," the blue-haired soothsayer recalled. Briar only stared.

"She has a wise heart, indeed. Listen, my client - you have two other girls in the House with gifts as your's. One isn't angry but sounds that way, with soul and heart as clear as day. The other is the shade of anger and pride, with a loyal and intelligent heart inside. Now, together, when the challenges you brave, from evil and hell your friends you will save."

Before Briar could say anything else, the four girls disappeared in a vanish of dust.

—

Hopper fidgeted. He shook. He shivered. He squirmed.

Today was the dreaded, dreaded, dreaded TUESDAY.

Ginger came out of the kitchen wielding a spatula and a huge platter of sizzling meat. There was still some green showing through the crispy golden surface. Hopper gulped and stared at his legs in fear.

"I love frog's legs," someone said. Hopper wiggled. He felt sick.

Briar shot him a sympathetic glance before continuing to think deeply. Hopper wondered what she was thinking about.

Ginger came around, giving everyone a large helping of frog's legs. Some people scarfed it down immediately. Apple cut it into mini pieces and ate them one by one. Hopper's stomach was somersaulting.

Ginger smiled at him as she came closer. And, horror of horrors - she gave him AN EXTRA SERVING!

Hopper almost wept in sorrow. He liked it when she gave him extra spaghetti or cookies or roast beef. But today was TUESDAY! And he was HOPPER! He stared forlornly at his plate of frog's legs. Next to him, Chase munched and exclaimed how good it tasted. On his other side, Hunter was nibbling on the legs. And all around him, they were eating _frogs_!

Shaking, he picked up his fork and poked the frog's legs. They looked so alive. This was most distressing.

Briar leaned over and tapped him on the shoulder. She gestured for him to dump his frog's legs on her plate. Hopper quickly did. Briar then gave Chase half and continued eating her's.

And then Ginger came out with another serving!

The cook immediately walked up to Hopper. "You eat so quick!" she said shyly. "Is it because you really like them?"

And then she dumped another helping on his plate. Hopper's lip wobbled. He was going to cry.

Ginger looked worried. "Are you alright, Hopper?" she asked.

And then Hopper burst into tears.

—

Cerise wasn't expecting Hopper's outburst. He wailed. Cook Ginger looked immesely worried. Briar immediately stood up. "Maybe it was food poisoning?" she said, and then grabbed Hopper and strode off.

"F-Food poisoning!" Ginger spluttered. "I-I would not!"

Cerise shrugged and continued eating her food. The frog's legs tasted like chicken.

—

Briar followed Hopper as he ran to the closest bathroom and started to vomit.

"It was disgusting! All the skin and the green slime and…urgh! Does she take me for a cannibal?"

Briar patted the boy's back as he retched up another load. "Did you ever see a more smug look?" he proclaimed.

Briar was still trying to wrap her mind around what happened last night. She had seen the souls…but what did they mean?

 **Ooh, mysterious. And cryptic! Look at the rhyming! All the rhyming!**

 **Murasakino-chan, I'm really happy you like this story, but I won't update that often because I'm working on my other Ever After High fanfic, Where's My Happily Ever After? I suggest you read it.**

 **Anyway, there. Hope that satisfied. And intruiged. Can you name all the dead girls?**

 **\- Reade :D**


	3. The Files

**Chapter 3**

 **The Files**

Briar had a plan. After she'd spied on Grimm talking weirdness to Raven that night she was up (and had seen the Souls), her suspicion and fear of what the house keeper was planning had increased. But now she was thinking what she should do to find out what he was going to do.

She walked up to Sparrow, who was sitting on the lip of the dried, cracked swan fountain. When she had first been shoved into this hellhole of an asylum, the fountain had been running clear and clean; now it was devoid of life and looked ugly and barren.

Sparrow was strumming his hideous-sounding electric guitar when she approached him.

"HELL-LLLOOO BBRII-AAARRR!" he screech-sang when he saw her.

"Sparrow. How are you doing?"

"Worse now that you're here."

Briar pursed her lips. "Yeah, I'm not too happy to be within two metres of you either. But I need you to do me a favour."

"Really? And why me, Miss Sleeping Beauty?" he responded boredly.

"Because you're the only one who's good at stealing."

He perked up at the word 'stealing' and actually looked up from his guitar for once. "Go on."

"I think Grimm's acting really weird lately," said the brunette.

"Go on."

"And I need to find out what it is."

"Go on," repeated the ginger. He was grating dangerously on Briar's nerves.

"I want you to steal his keys to his office," Briar finished. "They're usually hanging around his neck, so I don't know how you would. But you're great at stealing right? I heard you're the best." She was egging him on. The only thing bigger than Sparrow's love for his guitar and stealing was his ego.

"I'll do it, but what's the payment?" he asked.

Briar took from her pocket a single sapphire ring - it had belonged to Blondie so she had no use for it. Sparrow inspected it and took it.

"A valuable trinket, but I could have stolen it myself with ease. What else are you giving me?"

Briar thought. "Extra frog's legs for the rest of the year." Sparrow liked frog's legs. Hopper did not. An easy exchange.

"Sounds compromising. And?"

The girl scowled. "I…I…" She knew exactly what the cocky guitarist was asking for. "I…"

"Hurry up, sloth, I haven't got all day."

"I'll convince Duchess to go on a date with you," she managed, sulking like a spoilt kid.

"Good. Good, good," Sparrow smiled. He jumped up, shook her hand, and walked off. "Nice doin' business with you, Needle-Fearer!" he tossed over his shoulder.

Briar sighed, but at least she'd gotten something done.

—

Maddie sat down with Kitty in the lounge room. Kitty was writing letters to her mother back home. Maddie was drinking a cup of Earl Grey and watching over the cat girl's shoulder. In Kitty's left hand was a ball of wool she was fiddling with.

"There," Kitty finished with her signature on top of a sharp-toothed grin. She slid the paper into an envelope and gave it to Hunter, who was acting as Letter Manager that day and would take all the letters to the post office.

"Augh! Help!" Apple shouted in an ear-bruising soprano from another room. Hunter suddenly dropped all the letters, ripped off his shirt and ran towards the damsel. Kitty facepalmed and grabbed her letter.

"I knew I couldn't trust him. I'd better go deliver it myself." She put on her purple rain-jacket and walked out with Darling and Lizzie, both of whom were going also.

Madeline watched her friend leave and continued drinking her tea and looking around the room. The house members were interesting to watch and borderline harmless. The odd ones were Apple, Blondie, and the couple that had sex in holes they digged.

"Madeline! Madeline!"

She looked up from her spot on the beanbag. Briar stood over her, looking a thousand times taller than she already was since Maddie was sitting on the ground.

"I need you to come with me for a few minutes."

Madeline stood up and followed Briar. The brunette then walked to another girl who she recongised as Cerise and asked to borrow her for some time. Briar led to two girls to a private alcove to talk.

"Okay, listen. I've been suspecting Grimm of doing strange things. I've heard him talk suspicious things to Raven, and another night I saw strange things. I saw supernatural beings, and I heard then talk. Out of all the years I've been here, I've seen crazy things, but this is the weirdest yet."

Cerise asked, "and where do we play into this?"

"I'm going to go into Grimm's office and search for suspicious files and such. I convinced Sparrow to steal me the key. I need you two because Cerise, your ears are extremely sensitive and you can listen if you hear someone coming, so we have time to hide or run. Madeline, you're new so you can tell Grimm - if we're caught - that you were handing in your information slip."

"Good thinking ahead," Cerise said.

Briar took out a heavy brass key from her dress pocket. "Grimm's doing conference with Cook Ginger and Miss Cupid. Let's go."

Madeline followed the two girls up two flights of stairs in front of a large door. Briar looked around, and seeing no one, unlocked the door and slipped into yet another corridor. This one was long and wide. The carpet underneath their feet was thick and dusty, worn-out colours of cherry, butterscotch, olive and boysenberry. Cobwebs were gathering in the corners.

"Huh. Spooky," the wolf-girl muttered.

Madeline only nodded, looking around at the space. "Yeah…" They continued padding along silently. The corridor was extremely long. There were random doors they came across every now and then.

"Someone's coming," Cerise suddenly hissed. Everyone stiffened and looked around wildly for a place to hide.

The footsteps were clear to all of them now. Each girl dived into their chosen hiding spot just as Miss Cupid walked past.

Maddie held her breath from underneath the coffee table that had been randomly abandoned in the hall. The therapist had disappeared down the hall. She crawled out, just as Cerise burst out of the wardrobe.

"Where's Briar?" Madeline whispered.

They looked up instinctively to see the brunette hanging from the chandelier fastened to the hugely tall ceiling. She let go and dropped down, landing awkwardly with a bump.

"Ergh, sh—"

Cerise clapped her hand over Briar's mouth, listening carefully. Maddie's breath hitched in her throat.

"Okay, we're good. Let's keep going," she whispered.

The three continued along the hall, trying to be quiet. Cerise was the stealthiest of the three. Briar's height was rather awkward, and Maddie was simply unused to this. But she did well.

Finally, they arrived to a large panelled door, painted black with some golden lining. In big brass letters read the words, 'OFFICE OF MILTON GRIMM'.

"We're here," Briar murmured, unlocking the door. She pushed it open and glanced inside. It was empty. She beckoned the other two to come in. They shut and locked the door behind them, in case any of the staff decided to wander in. Madeline looked around the office. It was nice and big and airy, with huge arched windows. There was a big dusty desk, heavy and gold-trimmed, with built-in drawers. Littered on the surface was a menagerie of papers, pens, folders, and a large desk lamp. Accompanying the desk was a large black velvet chair. Drawers and cabinets lined the wall.

"That gives us a sure lot of things to search for," Maddie said, looking around. Briar was already scuffling through the paper on his desk. Cerise pressed her ear against the door, listening attentively.

Madeline, although unsure what the tall brunette was looking for, helped with the search. She opened a drawer. It was so neat and tidy that she felt terrible going through it. But she did. There was nothing but paperclips, bulldog clips, and some empty notebooks.

The next few drawers proved no different. Finding nothing, the newbie turned to the large cabinet. She pulled at the handles, but they didn't budge. They seemed to be locked.

She looked at the brass key Cerise was holding, but it seemed too big to fit in the petite keyhole. Maddie glanced around and spotted another set of keys hanging around the doorknob. She tried the first. It slotted it perfectly. Turning the lock, she pulled open the cabinet and peered inside.

"Uh, Briar? Cerise? You have to see this…"

Hearing her, the two brunettes curiously turned towards the gobsmacked girl and looked into the cabinet.

"What the fuck…" Cerise muttered, eyes wide.

Inside the cabinet were files. Lots and lots of files. But the weird part was that all of them had the names and pictures of each seperate House Member.

The creepy thing?

There was a seperate pile of folders, with the names and photos of people they didn't recongise. But the pile was labelled, scarily,

 _MEMBERS SUCCESSFULLY MURDERED_

—

"Has anyone seen Madeline, the new girl?" Kitty asked. "She'd promised to go kite flying with me…and today's the perfect weather!"

"Go play with a ball of yarn, Catface," Blondie sniffed unthoughtfully. "Or a toy mouse!" She was filing Apple's nails for her while the crazy pale-skinned girl was eating an apple.

Kitty gave a snarling meow, and pounced on Blondie, scratching at the screaming blonde with her sharp nails.

"Say that again! I dare you, say that again!" she hissed, squeezing Blondie's neck. "You dumb bitch! Let me tell you something, bitches are female dogs and cats…well, we don't like dogs."

Hunter, hearing another scream from Blondie, ripped off his shirt, pulled a screeching Kitty off her, and quite literally threw the seething girl over his shoulder.

Kitty landed on her feet, as all felines, and snarled at the heroic brunette.

"That was quite impressive, if I do say so myself," Lizzie commented airily, placing a black-gloved hand on her best friend's shoulder.

"Are you alright, Kitty? You're never that angry," Darling said worriedly. "Usually you just laugh at her."

Kitty was panting. "I know. I know. But this adrenaline…"

Lizzie and Darling exchanged a look. Their lavender-headed friend was usually lazy and slothlike, always taking 'catnaps'. Today she was eerily different.

"Maybe it's the medicine," Lizzie suggested. "After all, there is a lot of sugar."

—

"What's all this?" Briar gaped. Shaking, she pulled out the stack of the files labelled MEMBERS SUCCESSFULLY MURDERED.

The three sat together on the floor. Briar took out the first file and stifled a scream. "It's Faybelle," she whispered.

"Who's that?" Madeline asked, as Briar started going through the papers.

"Briar's best friend," Cerise explained. "She was just recently found dead in the forest, murdered by thieves. She thought she could talk to ghosts and was apparently 'led' [at this, she made quotation marks with her fingers] in there by a ghost."

Briar looked up to them. "She wasn't murdered by thieves! She was murdered by Grimm!"

"WHAT!?" Madeline shouted. Cerise quickly hushed her, although she herself looked visibly shocked.

"It says over here - read it yourself."

Briar handed the paper over to Cerise. Cerise's eyes flitted over the words and held a hand up to her mouth. When she was done reading, she passed it to Madeline.

The newcomer looked down at the document. It said as follows:

 _FAYBELLE THORN_

 _AGE: 17_

 _DATE ARRIVED: January 9th_

 _MENTAL DISABILITY: Believes she can talk to ghosts_

 _PLAN: Create a hologram with Dr. Humphrey that beckons Faybelle into the forest, making her think it's a ghost: then kill her._

 _TO TELL THE OTHERS: Faybelle believed there was a ghost leading her the forest, where she was murdered by thieves._

"No way…" Maddie muttered. Her heart was starting to beat furiously. She had been reluctant to come here, but now she was terribly scared.

Briar took out another file and almost dropped it in shock. Maddie peered over. It was a photo of a girl was bubblegum-pink curls. Cerise didn't seem to recongise the person either.

"You know this person?" Cerise asked.

Briar nodded quickly. "I—On the day I heard Grimm talking to Raven, I walked outside and I saw these girls. They were spirits, not ghosts, and they had empty eye sockets…"

Cerise and Madeline listened as the shaking brunette explained what she had seen. Something deep inside them stirred - they knew Briar was telling the truth and it had indeed happened. Maddie's mind and heart raced. She was becoming extremely frightened.

"The leader was this girl," Briar explained, pointing to the picture. "And every time she opened her mouth, a bucketful of water spilled out. And I think she said she was drowned."

They once again passed around the paper:

 _MEESHELL MIRMADE (A/N: I had to change her last name)_

 _AGE: 16_

 _DATE ARRIVED: September 8th_

 _MENTAL DISABILITY: Clinical lycanthropy; because of her last name, she thinks she's a mermaid._

 _PLAN: Tie weights to her foot and push her off a cliff leading into the sea, drowning her._

 _TO TELL THE OTHERS: Meeshell, believing she was a mermaid and could breathe underwater, jumped into the sea and drowned._

"I know this girl too," Briar said, picking up another file. This one was of a girl with tanned skin and a brown braid.

The reading cycle then ensued:

 _JILLIAN BEINSTALC (A/N: I had to change her last name too…)_

 _AGE: 17_

 _DATE ARRIVED: April 23rd_

 _MENTAL DISABILITY: She thinks there is a land of giants above the clouds._

 _PLAN: Convince her to climb a tree 'leading up to the land of the giants'. Cut down the tree when she's at the highest point; she will fall to her death._

 _TO TELL THE OTHERS: Jillian thought she could reach her imaginary kingdom by climbing a tree. A woodcutter didn't know she was up thete and chopped down the tree._

Next was a dark-skinned blonde that Briar also recongised:

 _NINA THUMBELL_

 _AGE: 14_

 _DATE ARRIVED: September 16th_

 _MENTAL DISABILITY: Clinical lycanthropy; believes she is a mythical creature that can live in the wild without provided food and water._

 _PLAN: When she is in the forest, simply shoot her._

 _TO TELL THE OTHERS: Nina wandered out into the forest and was mistaken for a wild animal, and was shot by poachers._

The last one that Briar found familiar was a very pretty girl, with healthy pink skin and hair that was baby blue and light cyan.

 _FARRAH GUDD-PHAEREE (A/N: Yep, changed this one too)_

 _AGE: 19_

 _DATE ARRIVED: Feburary 1st_

 _MENTAL DISABILITY: Not much, other than the fact that she is extremely selfless, almost too much so, and naive and unstable._

 _PLAN: Poison her drink._

 _TO TELL THE OTHERS: Farrah was naive enough to drink a type of chemical that Dr. Humphrey left on his desk._

"This is lucrudious," Cerise murmured. Briar grabbed the pile of the current House Members. She sifted through them, found her's, and read it out loud to the others.

"Briar Beauty; age eighteen; date arrived: August the fifth; mental disability: Sleeping Beauty Syndrome and severe belonephobia; plan…"

They all held their breaths.

"…Give her sleeping pills disguised as medicine, as it will affect and elongate her Sleeping Beauty syndrome. Convince the other members that she is dead and bury her alive…WHAT THE HELL?" Briar cried.

"But why would they go through all that drama?" Madeline asked curiously. "Why don't they just poison you? What's the need to bury you alive? And wouldn't your roommate know you're still alive?"

"No idea," Briar frowned, looking perplexed and scared shitless. Cerise found her's and read it out loud as Maddie looked through the shelves at the strange books. She selected a few small ones and put in her satchel to look at later. Something was very, very fishy.

"Cerise Hood-Walv, age eighteen; date arrived: June 6th; mental disability: thinks she's a werewolf and does abnormal wolf-like things," Cerise read aloud, rolling her eyes. She gulped as she continued. "Plan: give her illegal drugs disguised as medicine to cure her sickness. This will make her crazy. Cast her out into the forest and shoot her. To tell the others: Cerise's mental disability got out of order which is why she started acting so weird. She needed to be banished into the forest, where she was mistaken for a wolf and shot by hunters.…this is ridiculous."

"Can I look for mine?" Madeline asked. She kneeled down and found her's. The only things written in were her name and the date.

"Don't you have a mental disability?" Cerise asked.

"…No," said Madeline uncomfortably.

Cerise didn't ask any more. They just sat there absorbing in the disturbing information.

"Why would he do this?" Briar muttered, running a hand through her curls. "We haven't done anything bad…"

Maddie continued looking at the desk. Something didn't seem right about the look of it, but she wasn't sure what. "What if there's a bigger force behind it? What if he's being paid by someone?"

"But who?" Briar questioned.

"And why?" Cerise added.

Maddie shrugged. She looked down at the files and counted them carefully.

"Guys, there's only nineteen…and there's twenty current house members," she told Briar and Cerise. "Something doesn't add up."

Cerise frowned, confused, and counted the files herself. "You're right," she said. "How come?"

"What if Grimm has one of the files on him right now? What if he's going to kill one of them right now? You said he had a conference with Cupid, so what if he's planning with her, because she gives out medicine?" Madeline suggested.

"Good point."

The girls stared some more at the stack of files, a growing, unsettling feeling of dread and fear starting to form inside them. After a while, they packed up the office exactly the way it was before, and crept into the hallway.

The only thing that was clear was this: they needed to get out of this House before they met their ends.

—

 **Hey guys! Wooo! Finally back after twenty thousand years! My apologies for being late with these updates. I was working on other fanfics and I haven't had the time. However I'm gonna try finish this next. Suspense suspense…good luck guessing what Grimm is up to!**

 **Speaking of, what are the files? Why is one missing? Why is Maddie uncomfortable about her 'mental disability' if she even has one? Why is Kitty overreacting, or where is she getting her adrenaline? Tell me what you think in the reviews!**

 **Till next time!**


	4. The Investigation

**Chapter 4**

 **The Investigation**

 **Response to reviews:**

 **CreativeWritingSoul: To be honest, hauling piles of folders out of a forbidden corridor would be highly suspicious…also, Grimm would have known they would've taken them, plus they would have to get them back again. It was already dangerous as is. We'll see about Kitty. I told you it was a depressing story, although it'll get better!**

 **XxGalaxyUnicornLovexX: Glad you enjoyed it!**

 **Hey guys, can you tell me your favourite line via reviews along with the usual? Ta!**

Cerise roomed with two girls - Rosabella and Darling.

She wasn't that upset about it. She was perfectly fine with the extra roommate, seeing that three girls meant two en suites and bigger and more luxurious rooms. The downfall was one single bed and a bunk bed. Rosabella and Darling often argued over who could claim the single, but Cerise didn't see what the fuss was about. She liked the top bunk.

However, she was a little confused, seeing that Cedar also had no roommate. So why didn't Darling or Rosabella or Cerise herself room with Cedar? She wasn't exactly sure, but she hoped there was a sensible reason behind it and not only because no one liked Cedar, because she was so brutally, but innocently, honest.

Cerise got along with her roommates well. It wasn't really that they actually had time to get along, as the three girls usually kept to themselves. In the evenings when everyone had to be confined in their rooms, Darling somehow found a way to sneak off to the boys' dorms to visit Chase and her brother, Daring. They talked about baseball and fencing, mostly.

Rosabella, on the other hand, stayed in the room all the time, making a sort of private, sophiscated blanket fort on her own bed. Then she would duck in the blanket fort with a bottle of body oil and watch Zootopia on rewind.

When Cerise first met Rosabella and found out she was to be rooming with her, she had almost freaked out. Cerise didn't mean to sound condescending or rude, but she thought the beastiality-ridden girl would get an unnatural obsession with her, seeing that she was a wolf of some sort.

Luckily, Rosabella kept to herself. For someone with a sexually driven mental disability, she was quiet and private. At times, Cerise even wondered if the girl actually had beastiality or not.

 _Then again,_ Cerise thought as Try Everything blasted out, followed by some excited muttering from Rosabella, _I don't exactly want to find out._

—

Briar couldn't sleep.

This was normal, seeing that she had Sleeping Beauty Syndrome and therefore a tossed in streak of insomnia. But she still felt uneasy and unsafe. She was sure to surround herself with people all times and check her drink, food, tablets, and medicine whenever she had them.

She wondered how she and Madeline and Cerise were going to figure this out. Should they tell the House, try to escape, keep it to themselves, or what? Call their parents? It wasn't like they would believe them.

Briar wanted to go out walking. She never liked to do it nowadays after reading the files, but suddenly she felt a strange presence of comfort and safety. She grabbed a boxcutter and a small knife she kept in a locked drawer and she put them in the front pocket of her robe. Then she set off.

The hallways were dimly lit, but she saw no fear. She just continued walking, feeling better with the strange, lovely protective presence following her. She went out into the gardens and breathed in some fresh air. Then she padded around the border of the House to clear her mind.

As she walked, Briar became suspicious as she heard some footsteps behind her. She quickened her pace, but the footsteps mimicked her, following her around the garden.

She started to panic and reached quickly for her weapons and her courage. With the boxcutter in one hand and the knife in the other, the brunette spun around, brandishing the weapons.

"ARRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH! CHIMICHANGAS!" screamed the person holding the torch. Briar blinked in the torchlight, LED bulbs blurring her vision. However, she recongised that voice.

"Hopper! What are you doing out here? At one in the morning?" Briar yelled. "You scared me!" Her heart quietened down considerably.

"Sorry," the ginger responded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and he lowered the torch. "I was trying to run away."

"From what? Or who?" asked Briar.

Hopper shrugged. "I don't even know. I just sensed someone chasing me with some heavy weapon and I ran out here."

"What do you mean, you sensed them?"

"I heard them. I just…sensed it," he replied, confused.

"How can you _hear_ a heavy weapon?" Briar responded,

"I don't know," Hopper responded again. Then, for no apparent reason, he flicked off his torch.

Briar tapped him. "Can you turn it back on? It's pitch black out here."

Hopper only shushed her. "I can sense him again." His voice was nervous.

"What now?"

"He'll be able to see the torch light. We have to get back inside the dorms," he whispered. "But now we can't see."

Briar's heart pounded. She heard the almost silent footsteps. "I've walked out here all the time in the dark. I'll get us back inside."

Now it was Hopper's turn to question, "what now?"

Wordlessly, she grabbed his hand and sprinted for her life.

For once, the two cursed the garden for being so big. It had once been a gift to have such a lovely large place to wander around, but now they begged for the door into the main building to be just around the corner.

"Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit," Briar muttered as they ran. They were fast but so was the weird-ass guy who was chasing them. What for? She'd love to know.

All of a sudden, it wasn't Briar pulling Hopper but Hopper pulling Briar.

"I…didn't…know…you…ran…so…ugh! Fast…" she huffed between breaths.

"I don't usually, unless I need to!" he responded, freaking out. Finally, the door came into view. The two barrelled in, slammed it on whoever was trying to chase them, and continued down the corridor. They heard the door being smashed open by…what? An anvil?!

"Dead end…" Hopper groaned.

Briar filled with dread. "I didn't expect myself to die so youngWOAH!"

Hopper had shoved her into a storage closet them followed suit. They both shut up and listened, breathing heavily.

If it wasn't a dire life-or-death situation, Briar would have freaked out about the two getting themselves in each other's personal space. But it was a dire life-or-death situation.

"I'm scared," she muttered almost inaudibly.

"You and me both," he answered.

And then the nightmare of nightmares happened: the closet door opened. Briar and Hopper screamed like drunken banshees as they tumbled out.

Briar did what any girl would do in this situation…

…she kicked the mystery person in the balls.

That is, she tried to.

The lights flickered on just as Cedar caught Briar's shin before it made impact with her between-the-legs-spot.

"Are you guys alright?" she asked. "Why were you in a storage closet?"

The two sighed in relief.

"Someone was chasing us," Hopper explained.

"They were holding an anvil," Briar added. Hopper shot her a look. "You know what, ignore what I just said."

"That sounds terrifying," Cedar said, although it sounded like she didn't believe a word they said.

Briar and Hopper exchanged a look.

"Do you believe us?" asked the ginger.

Cedar nodded and the two sighed in relief. Again. There to be a lot of relieved sighs tonight, Briar realised.

"How do you know we're telling the truth?" Briar prodded. "Has it happened to you?"

"It hasn't happened to me, but I saw you two run from someone."

"Did you see who the someone was? Was it a man or a woman?"

Cedar shook her head, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm not sure."

"We should head back," Hopper said, and the three started their ascend up the stairs, unease settling in Briar's stomach.

—

Madeline noticed that Briar and Hopper were sitting very close together during breakfast. Out of protection, secrets, trusts? Who knew? The pair looked uneasy.

"Are you alright?" she asked, leaning over the table.

"Fine," Briar responded, eyes darting around as if looking for someone to walk in.

Maddie sat back down. She wondered what Briar and Hopper had seen or heard that made them so alert and paranoid.

"Where's Kitty?" she asked Lizzie, who was sitting next to her and cutting the tops off her french toast sticks, as if they were people's heads.

"Not sure. I haven't seen her all day," answered Lizzie in her ever-graceful, ever-airy voice.

"Hmm," responded Madeline. It wasn't like Kitty to randomly disappear. She hoped Grimm hadn't carried out a terrible plan and killed her. Shivering, she forced the thought out of her mind.

Luckily, her lavender-haired roommate entered through the door just at that time.

"Morning, Lizzie," the cat-girl yawned, sitting down next to Madeline. "Morning, Maddie."

"Where've you been?" Darling asked, sitting opposite the two. She was daintily cutting her eggs and bacon into cubes.

Kitty only smiled her usual mischevious smile. "I've been having such strange adrenaline rushes. I just went to catnap in one if the oak trees in the back garden." She propped her ankle-booted feet up on the table.

Madeline smiled, relieved as she took a sip of her orange juice. At least Kitty was safe. Some sugar rushes, that was all.

The room suddenly silenced down as heavy footsteps came echoing down the hallway. Maddie watched, confused, as Kitty hurriedly took her feet off the tabletop and dusted it. Several other teens were straightening their backs, smoothing their hair, and brushing nonexistent dirt off their clothes. Briar and Hopper stiffened, and Briar dropped her fork and knife onto the plate with a clatter.

"It's Grimm! He's coming!" were the hushed whispers.

An imposing man stood in the doorway. The dining hall fell silent as everyone stared at the tall, terrifying House owner.

 _So that's Milton Grimm_ , Madeline thought. His thick eyebrows were arched and his mouth set in a frown.

"Good morning," he boomed.

No one answered. Some tittered nervously.

"G-Good morning, M-Mr Grimm!" Apple chirped, looking frightened.

"Hush!" he shouted. "Teenagers should be seen but not heard."

The room fell silent again. Apple slunk back in her seat and sobbed into the arm of her sweater.

Madeline looked around the room once more. Everyone seemed scared of this man. Hopper was borderline hiding behind Briar, despite the useless attempt (as he was taller). Blondie looked ready to burst into tears. Cerise winced and held her ears. Darling was biting a napkin to avoid her teeth chattering. The only person who seemed unaffected was Cedar.

"Last night, I heard there was a bit of a…disturbance," Grimm said, trailing his hard, cruel eyes on each of the teenagers. "This is unacceptable behaviour. Now, allow me to deem the culprits."

He strode across the room. Maddie stifled a scream when he grabbed a handful of Briar's hair and yanked it. Hard. Said brunette toppled onto the floorboards.

Then, Grimm secured his other hand around Hopper's neck and did the same. Hopper winced, but didn't squirm for release. Instead, he fell down next to Briar, who looked…submissive and obedient, for once.

"Explain yourselves!" he yelled.

The two said nothing. When Hopper attempted to stand, Grimm shoved him down.

"Go on! Explain yourselves!"

"Well, I was—" Briar began quietly, before getting cut off.

Grimm interrupted her. "Be quiet! Teenagers should be seen and not heard. How many times have I told you?"

The two fell silent.

"Well, seeing you're not going to explain yourselves, I expect a punishment's in order," the House owner frowned. "The two of you will clean the dining room and kitchen under the supervision of Dr. Humphrey for the next two weeks. Understood?"

"Understood," Briar and Hopper murmured.

"Did I ask you to talk?" he bellowed.

"Good." Milton Grimm gave a smirk before yanking Briar's hair towards the table. Her head smashed into the plates. Cutlery toppled down, landing with a bang.

"Be careful, Miss Beauty, with the cutlery next time," he grinned, before going the same to Hopper. The ginger released a strangled shout before his head made contact with the dishes.

"You too, Mr Croakington."

With that, he strode out of the room.

When Grimm's footsteps faded away, the House members starting whispering amongst themselves.

"We didn't even do anything!" Hopper moaned, clutching his head.

"We know," Ashlynn sighed, and the others agreed.

Maddie scrambled up and ran to Briar, who hadn't talked. "Are you alright?" she asked.

The brunette nodded, but Madeline could see she was on the verge of tears. Briar wiped away some blood from her lip. "He does it all the time now. What a bastard."

"Why don't you tell your parents?"

"They wouldn't believe us," Briar responded, closing her eyes. "I guess cleaning up isn't that bad. Last time when Apple smashed the television with an apple basket, he forced her to stand outside in the rain for seven hours. On one foot. In stilettos."

Maddie helped up the brunette and sighed. What terrible place had she landed herself into?

—

Cerise was seated in a little alcove with Madeline and Briar. It was secluded and private, and safe from the prying eye.

"So what happened last night?" Cerise asked Briar, who was leaning the side of her head against the cool stone walls.

"I went out walking," Briar started.

"In the middle of the night?" Maddie interrupted.

"Alone?" Cerise added.

Briar shifted her position, staring at the floor in concentration to remember. "I don't know. I just remembered having a weird presence of comfort and safety around me. I think…I think it was the Spirits of the Forgotten, protecting me. So I didn't feel scared. But I did bring a boxcutter and a knife, just in case."

Cerise nodded. "And then?"

"It was weird, because when I heard Hopper following me, I got really scared and the Spirits just seemed to leave. I couldn't feel their comfort anymore. And then Hopper said he _sensed_ someone chasing him with a heavy object. _Sensed_. You can't just _sense_ someone. And then someone chased us. We ran into a dead end, got into a closet. The closet then opened, but Cedar found us because she heard the racket."

"How did Grimm find out, then?" asked Madeline.

"Cedar can't tell lies. He probably just asked around in the morning," Cerise responded. "Hey, why did the Spirits leave when you heard Hopper, if he wasn't actually dangerous?"

"I don't know…" Briar groaned.

Madeline looked like she was in deep thought. "Hey, you said that Hopper could sense the person chasing you. What if he sensed the Spirits and they didn't want to be discovered?"

"Can Faybelle actually see ghosts?" Cerise continued. "What if that's linked to this stuff? Can anyone else see the Spirits or just you? If Faybelle was still here, would she have been able to see them?"

"How does that link back to Hopper?" Madeline questioned.

Cerise fiddled with her hood. "I think the more important thing is, why does Grimm want to kill us, and who was the man that was chasing you?"

"What if it was Grimm himself, and that's why he knows it was you?" Maddie mused.

The three thought over this. "But then how would he have escaped in time before Cedar found you?" Cerise wondered.

"I think it's time to question the witness," Briar decided. The two others agreed, and they set off to find Cedar.

—

Cedar was found curled up on a beanbag sketching in a large artbook.

"Good afternoon," she greeted amiably. The three took seats in front of her. Cedar would be easy to ask questions, since she couldn't tell a lie.

"We just wanted to ask about last night," Cerise started.

Cedar put down her pencil, nodding. "It was such a mess."

"Agreed," Briar said. "Hey, how did you find Hopper and I if you were so far away from the scene where it happened?"

The dark-skinned girl seemed to think this through. "Well, I was out walking just like you two, to clear my mind and find some inspiration for my drawings. Then I saw you and Hopper running away from someone, so I followed you two down the corridor."

"Did you see the person we were running away from? Did they just disappear?" Briar asked.

"I don't think they would have just disappeared," Cedar shrugged. "Either way, I hadn't seen them. I just saw you two running and by instinct I followed."

"Oh," Madeline frowned.

"Thank you Cedar," Briar said gingerly, then stood up and left. Madeline followed suit, but Cerise stayed to keep an eye on Cedar. While the girl could only tell the truth, something was off-putting about her behaviour.

She walked around to see what Cedar was drawing. Her strokes were firm, straight, almost mechanical. It was a drawing of some House members. The most detailed one was Kitty.

"That looks amazing," Cerise complimented, both geniunely and to get something more out of Cedar.

"Thank you," responded the artist. "Kitty is a fascinating person, don't you think? Mentally and aesthetically."

"How do you remember perfectly what they look like?" Cerise asked, suddenly intriuged and a little suspicious.

Cedar only smiled as she did the perfect outline of Kitty's arms. "I have an artist's memory, don't I? Almost photographic."

The wolf-girl silently agreed as she watched the young drawer continue her sketch, feeling stranger and stranger by the minute.

—

Madeline sat down next to Kitty, who was sitting still for once in her life.

They sat in the lounge room with Darling and Lizzie. They were playing cards, and currently Lizzie was winning.

Suddenly, a man walked in with a clipboard. He had very short blonde hair and baby blue spectacles.

"Who's that?" Maddie asked.

"Oh, Dr. Humphrey!" Apple sing-songed, batting her eyelashes. She stood up and catwalked towards the stoic-looking man. "Are you having a good day today?"

"Yes, thank you." His response was clipped and precise. "Excuse me, Miss White, please return to your seat." He fixed his glasses and wrote some notes down on piece of paper attached to his clipboard.

"I love your glasses, Dr. Humphrey. Very becoming," Apple continued. Everyone else except for Blondie looked like they were ready to puke.

"Miss White. Return to your seat," came the reply.

"Come on, Humphrey, you're only two years older than me…" the maniac blonde cooed.

Next to Madeline, Darling gagged.

"Miss White, according to the standard Ever After law, this counts as sexual harrassment. If you don't want jail time, I highly suggest you sit back down," Dr. Humphrey answered.

Apple pouted, emitting another gag from Darling, and sat down next to Blondie. "Next time I'll get him," she whispered.

"Is Madeline Hatter here?" asked the doctor.

Maddie put her hand up. "Um, that's me."

"Good afternoon. I'm the doctor here. I also invent. The woman with the pink hair is Miss Cupid. She's the therapist and she gives me information to make medicines," said Dr. Humphrey.

Madeline's eyes narrowed. So this was the man who created the hologram to fool Faybelle, and who made medicine that would most likely lead to death. She needed to get close to him and find out what was going on.

"Why does Apple like him?" she asked as quietly as she could.

"Because he's hot," Darling responded simply.

Upon closer inspection, Madeline realised that, as much as she didn't like to admit it, Dr. Humphrey was indeed very attractive.

"I don't understand why she wouldn't go for Alastair. He's also quite handsome," Lizzie observed airily in her ever-airy voice.

"But Alastair has sex with Bunny. In the holes they dig," Darling deadpanned.

Lizzie sniffed. "It's very strange to think that when Alastair and Bunny first met they hardly liked each other. Now they are having sexual intercourse any time they can. It's as if they're drugged with lust."

Maddie's ears pricked at the word 'drugged'. Were Alastair and Bunny actually drugged to have libido?

Kitty hadn't talked at all. This was strange. Madeline turned to the silent girl. "Kitty, are you alright?"

The cat-girl nodded stiffly. "I'll go get a drink."

Kitty stood up, but the second she did, she released a loud scream and toppled to the ground writhing in pain. Everyone jumped and rushed to the commotion.

"Kitty! KITTY!" Lizzie screeched, touching her friend's shoulder. Kitty only hissed in reply, lashing out wildly and screaming.

Madeline's heartbeat amplified. Unsure what to do, she turned to Cerise and Briar.

"Someone get Dr. Humphrey!" Darling screamed, rushing to Kitty. Ashlynn ran off in search for the doctor. Kitty released another strangled screech.

"What's wrong? Kitty, what's wrong?" the silver-haired girl cried, shaking Kitty madly.

Ashlynn ran back in. "He's not responding!"

"Someone call the ambulance, dammit!" Briar yelled.

No one moved. Grimm forbade anyone to use phones to call. Cerise, frustrated, turned to the telephone in the corner and rang the ambulance. The next few moments were tense. Kitty was still thrashing out, wheezing and coughing.

The sirens reached their ears. Madeline and the others were pushed out of the room by medics. She caught a glimpse of Kitty being lifted on a stretcher, groaning and hissing in pain.

Madeline, Cerise, and Briar all exchanged a look. Her adrenaline rushes, weird habits, and seizure all added up to one thing:

Kitty had been drugged.

—

 **Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the subtle Bripper parts and the suspense!**

 **I tried to make Grimm as terrible and scary as possible (I hope it worked).**

 **So, who was chasing Hopper and Briar? Why can Hopper 'sense' people? Will Kitty survive? What's with Cedar? Tell me what you think in the reviews!**

 **Love you all!**


	5. The Reveal

**Chapter 5**

 **The Reveal**

 **Hello guys and welcome to the next chapter! I give my thanks to CreativeWritingSoul, who helped me decide some things.**

 **I'll be vay-cay-ing in the next week in an internetless place so this will be the last update in this fortnight. Again, please tell me your favourite line in this chap!**

 **Response to reviews!**

 **XxGalaxyUnicornLovexX: No, I don't ship Apple and Humphrey. I ship Maddie and Humphrey (it's on my profile XD). Ever since I wrote them in Where's My Happily Ever After I've shipped them. Cupid isn't helping them (well, she's trying…we'll see in this chapter).**

 **CreativeWritingSoul: Yep, Grimm's a dick so he banned mobile phones. Also, all your questions and suspicious will need to wait! The answers will come eventually. I'm a hardcore Bripper Shipper (I love how it rhymes) so expect more! I need someone to draw sexy fanart of Humphrey. And yes, in this fic he's gonna be sexy.**

 **Guest: Thank you so much! I doubt you're reading this but if so, your review and very appreciated!**

 **Anyway, here goes! Have fun loves :)**

 **—**

"Fuck," said Briar.

Hopper, who was half-dangling on the chandelier in order to clean the ceiling (on Grimm's command), looked down and fell on the table.

"I have soap in my eye again," she muttered. It was crazy, but Briar almost suspected Grimm of tampering with the bucket so that whenever she sloshed the mop in the watery residue flew out to hit her face. Then again, this was a house of crazy.

"I never knew the dining hall would be so big," Hopper admitted as used a broom to scrub the ceiling. Cleaning the ceiling was the dumbest, most useless thing in the world. Which was why Grimm decided he was to do it.

"I know," answered the brunette as she mopped the floorboards that looked extra dirty today for some reason. "There seems to be an unnecessary amount of space."

The two exchanged a look then glanced at Chef Ginger, who was supposed to be supervising them. Instead, the bespectacled cook was staring dreamily at Hopper, making the boy gulp, and doodling pictures of frog's legs in a notebook, which made Hopper turn pale.

"Don't forget to clean the legs of all the chairs," Ginger said before giving a dreamy sigh. Briar and Hopper wiped down the legs pf the chairs, as instructed, and whispered quietly.

"The person who was chasing us last night…do you think it was Grimm?" Briar said.

Hopper frowned. "I mean, he's kinda violent, but I don't think he would do that."

Briar paused, wondering whether or not to tell him.

"Can I trust you?" she asked. "I need to tell you something, but you can't tell anyone. Especially not my parents."

The redhead frowned again, bemused, then looked surprised. "Oh my godmother! You're lesbian?"

"Huh?! What?! No!" she shouted, almost facepalming. Hopper calmed down. "So what is it?"

So Briar told him about the files and what happened to Faybelle and the others. Then, after some hesitation, she told him about the Spirits and the safety she felt when they guarded her that night.

"I always sensed something weird about Grimm," mused Hopper.

Briar stood up. "Yeah, now I need to know…how can you 'sense' all this stuff?"

Hopper shrugged, standing also. "I don't know. I just do."

"Hmm."

The brunette thought about this some more, but said nothing. Somethong very peculiar was going on in this house, that was for sure.

—

"Madeline?" Darling said, poking her head in the room. "Dr. Humphrey needs you to go. He needs to do the checkup."

Maddie stood up from her bed and followed Darling down a hallway into Dr. Humphrey's room. It looked like a medical checkup centre. No surprises there. She was prepared to whack the doctor in the face if needed, if he drugged her or anything.

Darling instructed her to sit down on a very white bed. Maddie sat down obediently and gazed at the very white ceiling, very white sheets, and very white furniture.

"I'll stay with you until the doctor comes," said Darling, and the short girl was grateful for the company.

So they waited for some time for Dr. Humphrey to appear. After a few minutes, Darling left.

When Dr. Humphrey arrived, he was carrying a huge pile of car scraps and tools like hammers and screwdrivers. Not being able to see where he was going, the doctor crashed into the wall and landed on his face.

Unsure what to do, Madeline rushed to his side and decided whether or not to help him up. She did, as it was only right to be helpful.

"Thank you," said the doctor, standing up. Now that she was even closer to him, Maddie noticed two things that annoyed her: one, he was very tall, so all ideas of slapping his face if provoked were impossible. Two, he was actually, as Apple and Darling said, extremely attractive. This annoyed her for some unknown reason.

"What's your name again?" asked Dr. Humphrey, gesturing for her to sit on the bed again.

"Madeline Hatter," replied Maddie, climbing up on the bed as instructed.

"Oh yes, that's right," he muttered, taking out some paper and a stethoscope. "So, what mental disability do you have?"

He placed the resonator on her chest, listening.

"I don't have any," she responded, a little anxious.

"Uh-huh," Humphrey replied, looking like he didn't believe her at all. "Is that why you're so flustered?"

"Flustered?" Maddie repeated, feigning confusion. All those years had paid off. She was extremely good at covering up her own feelings.

"Your heart is beating harder than usual."

She glanced down at the stethoscope. "Right." Turns out she couldn't hide anything from a doctor.

"Look, if you don't feel comfortable talking about it with me, that's okay," he sighed, taking the resonator off her chest. "But you do have to tell Miss Cupid everything. She's the therapist."

"Oh," responded Madeline blankly. She could cover up her feelings too, if she wanted, in front of the therapist.

"So…why are you scared of me?" questioned Dr. Humphrey.

This threw Maddie off her act. "W-What?!"

"It's not that obvious, don't worry. In fact, you seem very good at acting. The same way I have experience at being a doctor. Isn't that right?"

Madeline gulped.

"It's alright," he said. He leaned uncomfortably close. "Maybe be more honest next time."

Maddie instinctively leaned back further and further until she flopped back on the bed.

"See you next time, Madeline."

Humphrey half-shoved her out of the room and she landed back in the hallway that she had followed Darling in.

She stood there breathing heavily, not exactly sure what had just happened. She had to admit he was actually very friendly half of the time. The other half, he was kind of cryptic. Like, how did he know everything?

She looked up as another door, identical to Humphrey's, opened up. A woman who actually looked not much older than Madeline herself stepped out. Weird thing was, she was also dazzlingly gorgeous, like Dr. Humphrey.

"Hey there! You must be Madeline Hatter," smiled the woman. "I'm Cupid, the therapist."

Right. So this was Miss Cupid.

"Come inside my office. We're gonna have a conversation," the therapist smiled, looking geniunely friendly.

Maddie stepped inside. Cupid's room was completely different to Dr. Humphrey's. Everything either was bubblegum pink or white. It looked like a quirky aunt's room.

"So, what's your mental disability?" asked Cupid as she seated Maddie on the couch.

"I don't have one," Madeline responded.

Cupid nodded, writing something down on a clipboard. She studied Maddie intently before writing more down.

"So what do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Um…read?" Madeline lied.

The therapist nodded again and continued to scribble down some notes.

"Anything else? What do you like to read? What kind of books?"

Oh boy. "Adventure."

"Good, good." More writing. "What's your favourite drink?"

"Mango smoothies." Another lie.

She watched as Cupid wrote down some more. Madeline jumped as the therapist suddenly banged down her clipboard and walked towards her.

Preparing for the worst, Maddie shuffled back.

"It's okay," Cupid said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know about Grimm too. And I don't want to help him. I want to help you."

Madeline jumped again as the door opened as Briar and Cerise, wide-eyed, were pushed in by Darling, who didn't know about this whole thing, only did as she was commanded.

"What? How did you know?" Maddie asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"About what? How you snuck into Grimm's office to read the files or how I found out?" asked Cupid, sitting down next to the perplexed girl. Briar and Cerise followed.

"Both?" Cerise responded, getting more curious by the second.

"For the first one, I saw all three of you walking into that corridor. So I followed, obviously. Didn't want you to get in trouble. You all saw me and hid. Excellent hiding places, by the way."

The three exchanged looks.

"Secondly, when I was first employed, I didn't know about Grimm's plot. I thought he was a good man who geniunely wanted to help the teenagers. He was hostile at times, but before I just thought he was moody. Then I saw one of his files and just put two and two together. I tried to tell Humphrey, but he wouldn't believe me. I should have known before. I should have remembered," explained the therapist.

"Remembered what?" asked Briar, who had been speechless this whole time.

"Grimm killing me."

"WHAT!?" Maddie yelled.

Cupid turned her back to them and took off her doctor's coat. The three stared hard, unable to look away at the gruesome sight. Cupid had a pair of bloody, tattered wings. Wings, out of all things. Bone and muscle was showing through the ripped feathers.

"But…but…were you…reincarnated or something?" Cerise stammered as Cupid put on her coat again.

"No…" responded the therapist, a little uneasy. She paused and, to Maddie and Cerise's horror, literally pulled out her eyeballs.

Maddie and Cerise screamed for dear life, clutching each other as Cupid blinked at them with empty sockets, startled.

Briar only seemed mildly scared, but extremely shocked. "Y-You're a Spirit…"

Cupid nodded.

"And you were the one protecting me that night?" Briar asked.

She nodded again.

"Then why did you leave when Hopper came?" questioned the brunette.

"Because two Spirits can't cross over with each other."

"Wait…is Hopper a Spirit?" Briar gasped.

"He doesn't know yet. The same way I forgot until I was Awakened when I saw the file. By instinct, he knew that someone was trying to kill you and needed to protect you, so unwillingly, he found you. I was no longer needed, so I had to leave," replied Cupid.

"B-But…but…" Briar stuttered, wordless with shock.

"I know it's a lot to take in," Cupid said, to all of them.

"Who was trying to kill us?" Briar queried.

Before Cupid could say anything, they heard heavy footsteps down the hall. She stuffed her eyeballs back in as the door opened.

Grimm looked menacingly at the four in the room.

"S-Sir!" Cupid stammered.

"What is going on?"

"A joined therapy session," responded Cupid smoothly, recovering. "The girls are all friends and know each other well."

Grimm frowned. "Very well." He paused. "You girls! Go back to your dorms. I assume the session is almost over."

"O-Of course," Cupid said, ushering the three girls out of her office.

When Grimm was out of sight, they exchanged glances. Then Maddie fainted.

—

When Madeline came to, Cerise helped her up. Briar was no where to be seen.

The two trudged towards the dorms, feeling a sense of numb aftershock. They were never very superstitious, but now everything seemed to be strange.

"I can't believe it…" Maddie mumbled.

"Neither can I," Cerise admitted.

"Where's Briar?"

"She's gone to gorge out Hopper's eyeballs. Literally."

They continued walking for some time, until they arrived at the dorms.

"Goodnight," Cerise said. Madeline echoed the greeting and got ready of bed. The room seemed empty without Kitty. After brushing her teeth and changing, the short girl climbed into bed, thoughts spiralling around her head.

—

After breakfast, Cerise and all the other House members were seated in the lounge, instructed by Grimm. She sat next to Maddie and Briar, and wondered why they were called.

"Good morning," Grimm said, walking in. "I've called you all here to announce the news of Catherine Cheshire's…dilemma."

Cerise felt her friends stiffen. Her heart started beating frantically, expecting the worse.

"She is dead."

At those three words, the room erupted in a loud catastrophic five minutes of screaming, crying hysterically, and wailing. Cerise had expected this, and Maddie and Briar were no different.

"Madeline, your new roommate will be Cerise," Grimm told them. At that, he left, leaving the teens to mourn their friend.

Cerise was sad, but not surprised. She had better expect more terrible things to come.

After all, according to Briar, this was the House of Twisted Ever Afters.

—

 **Hey all! Sorry for the short chapter, I really didn't have much ideas.**

 **Don't forget your favourite line!**

 **Till next week!**


	6. The Discovery

**Chapter 6**

 **The Discovery**

 **Hey guysssss! I'm back! Miss me? *Chorus of 'NOOO's* Hmm, yeah, kay. Well, be glad I made this chapter extra long for you guys. :)**

 **Anyway! I had a great time at my vay-cay, for the polite few who asked. Although it's great to be home, can't lie about that!**

 **Here's a response to reviews!**

 **XxGalaxyUnicornLovexX: Oooh, you do? Do you know where I can find it? And yeah, Mysterious &SexyHumphrey all the way…XD**

 **CreativeWritingSoul: IDK how to respond to your review TBH because you kind of just summed up my chapter for me…and then added your opinion? Nevertheless, glad you enjoyed it!**

 **BY THE WAY, I ACCIDENTALLY REPLACED 'SOULS OF THE UNWANTED' WITH 'SPIRITS OF THE FORGOTTEN' FOR SOME UNKNOWN REASON! WHY DIDN'T YA'LL TELL ME!**

 **Anyway…*calms down***

 **Don't forget to tell me your favourite line :)**

 **—**

Hopper was sitting calmly in his room when Briar ran in, slamming the door behind her.

"Um…hi?" he greeted, unsure what the brunette was going to do. "You know you're not allowed in the boy's dorms, right?"

"Yes, yes," responded Briar, looking determined. "Now, this isn't going to hurt at all, okay?"

If there was one thing Hopper learnt from dentist appointments, it was that when someone said that something wasn't going to hurt at all, chances were he would be faced with the excruciating pain he had ever faced. In his life.

"Okay, just hold still," she ordered, stepping closer.

The ginger, with no other choice, chose to trust her.

Briar reached out her hands to his…ears? Hair? Eyes?

"Um…Briar?"

Without any warning, she reached out and literally pulled out his eyeballs.

Immediately, Hopper was hit with a blast of pain. His vision became blurred, flashing between reality and something else…another life.

Screaming, he fell to the floor, clutching his chest. Nothing felt right all of a sudden. Everything he touched seemed to burn his skin.

Images and feelings began flashing through his brain. A pair of glowing red eyes. Mechanical whirring. Someone chasing him with knives. And finally, a blinding spinkle of white light and empty sockets.

Groaning, he felt violent shudders overcome his body. Through the blurring images, he caught glimpses of Briar, but everything was unclear, as if he was underwater.

"Hopper!" His name was called out, seemingly from every corner of the room, in different pitches, different speeds, until they all merged into one - Briar's voice.

And like that, his vision was cleared. The pain receded and he able to sit up.

He looked around experimentally. He was back in his room. No glowing eyes, no whirring, and no knives.

"Are…are you okay?" Briar asked gingerly. "I'm sorry," she added. "I didn't know I'd hurt you."

"I'm fine," Hopper responded. He spotted his eyeballs on the carpet next to Briar. "I just…I didn't know I was a Spirit until now."

"Then you know about Grimm?" she asked. "Did he kill you?"

Hopper nodded.

"How?"

"Here, I'll show you. Do you have a knife?"

Briar gave him a questioning look. "I…don't usually carry knives around?"

"Right."

Hopper wondered if it would work without a knife. He decided to try it. So he reached down, and with very little struggle, pulled off his right leg from the knee down.

"HOLY SHIT!" Briar screeched.

Hopper held up his (kind of) decapitated leg. It dissolved into the air.

"Grimm sawed off my leg," he explained to a gaping Briar. "Because…you know…frog's legs. And then he left me there to bleed."

"What about your other leg? How come it's fine?" the brunette asked. "Why didn't he cut that one off as well?"

Hopper paused. "I dragged myself away just in time. But then Grimm paralysed it or something."

"How can you walk, then?"

"I don't. I float," he responded, as if it was perfectly logical. "I don't even have feet. I'm a spirit. I start fading from my calves."

Briar shook her head in disbelief. "How come you never knew until I…gouged out your eyeballs?"

Hopper flopped back on his bed. "I don't even know. I guess there's probably some scientific reason behind it, but for now I'm not very sure."

Briar sat down next to him, thinking. "I guess…I guess I should thank you."

"What for?"

"For saving me the other night."

He paused and offered a smile. "…Oh. Well, you're welcome, I guess."

—

Madeline and Cerise were moving the latter's belongings into the former's room.

"I just don't understand by I can't move in with Cedar," Cerise frowned, quiet. "It's not like I don't like you…in fact, I'd rather move in with you…but isn't it kinda mean?"

"Maybe you should ask Grimm," Maddie suggested.

Cerise shook her head wildly. "No one ever would dare question his decisions. You saw how he treated Briar and Hopper that morning."

Madeline silently agreed and turned around the retrieve Cerise's books. She jumped when she saw Grimm looming over her, eyes glinting maliciously.

She flickered her eyes over to Cerise, whose expression was filled with horror.

"The wolf-girl is right, Miss Hatter. No one can question my choices," the House owner sneered.

"S-Sorry," Madeline stammered.

Grimm nodded and turned to leave. She breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to organising Cerise's belongings.

However, her relief was short lived. No sooner had she turned around, Grimm grabbed her ponytail and smashed her head against the doorframe, leaving a trail of blood on the wood.

Madeline gave a groan and fell down on her back, clutching her head.

Grimm stood over her, looking pleased. Then he grabbed Cerise's arm and pulled her away, presumably to do the same to the poor brunette.

Maddie almost cried right there and then. How could she have possibly landed herself in this nightmare?

Suddenly, someone was pulling her up onto her feet.

"Oh…thank you," she muttered, and looked up into the almost annoying handsome face of none other than Dr. Humphrey.

"You're welcome," he responded.

Madeline gave a yelp and pulled her hand out of his. "I…I didn't know…it's you!"

"You are still scared of me, I see," he laughed. "Am I really that terrifying?"

"Like a jabberwocky," she mumbled under her breath.

"I was only assisting you, the way you assisted me yesterday," the doctor said. "Now come with me. I have to fix you up."

"I just need a bandaid, that's all," Madeline protested, stubborn to go anywhere but with Dr. Humphrey.

"Bandaids aren't going to fix splinters, plus whatever infections the dust has inflicted into your bloodstream."

"Wow. Read the dictionary much?"

Dr. Humphrey only smiled and gestured for her to come with him. Madeline followed him, but was stopped by a sudden sound. The most annoying ever known to man.

"Oh, Dr. Huuuumphrey!" Apple called.

The blonde doctor looked so exasperated that Maddie almost snorted. She barely supressed a giggle. However, when she swivelled around with him to look at Apple, she basically shrieked.

Apple was draped against the doorframe, wearing revealing red lace lingerie.

"Oh. My. Godmother…" Humphrey groaned, annoyed, as he covered his eyes. "Miss White…that's really not rated PG…"

"Oh, really? Would you like to see more…?" the blonde cooed.

"No, actually, I really don't," he responded. "Come on, Madeline, let's go."

"Hey, how come you're so nice to…that girl?" Apple pouted, while not-very-subtly trying to slip down one bra strap.

"Because she doesn't sexually harrass me!" Humphrey answered.

"But she's not as curvy as me!" Apple complained. She turned to the short girl. "First you steal my apples, now my future husband!" Humphrey winced at the last three words.

Madeline, angry at being accused for crimes she didn't commit, was inclined to give Apple a piece of her mind.

So she did.

"Apple White, you are a hoarder and a slut. Humphrey hates you. Get it into your blonde noggin. And so does everyone else in this asylum."

The blonde screeched like a pterodactyl and lunged at Madeline. She closed her eyes, ready for the pain. When none came, she opened her eyes to see Raven standing beside to an unconscious Apple, casually swinging a green apple-shaped charm back and forth.

Madeline looked up at the ebony-haired girl, and for a split second their eyes met. Then Raven left, as if she never was there.

—

"Thank you."

Maddie looked up, feet swinging, when Humphrey finished bandaging her wound. "Why?"

"You stood up to Apple," he answered.

"Well…it's not hard or anything. Anyone could have done it," she answered, confused as she hopped off the bed.

"I know, it's just…no one's ever tried - or wanted - to help me before," the doctor answered, looking out of the window where rain was bucketing down. Water droplets wove patterns on the glass.

Maddie walked next to him, looking at the raindrops. "What do you mean?"

Humphrey seemed to snap out of his trance. "Oh, hey, it's time for you to go. See you again."

Madeline was ushered out of his office. She stared at the closed door, and wondered what he had meant.

Deciding to drop it, she went back to her dorm. Maybe Humphrey wasn't that scary after all.

—

It was Tuesday, visiting day. When the parents, friends and family of the House members could come to visit them.

Maddie, like Briar, had no one who could come and visit. The two sat in the lounge as their friends were surrounded with family.

"Who's that?" Madeline asked, gesturing to a brunette man with glasses. He was talking to Daring and Darling.

"Dexter Charming," answered Briar, who was keeping a steady gaze on Hopper.

Cupid herself walked in, looking for Daring for his therapy session.

"Mr Charming!" she called.

A brown-haired man turned around. "Was that me?"

The therapist was so startled by his beautiful eyes that she said nothing for a while. "Oh…no, I mean Daring…"

"Oh. Sorry. I'm Dexter Charming," he introduced. "Twenty-two years old. I'm Darling and Daring's brother."

Cupid shook his hand, still mesmerised by his gorgeous eyes. "I'm Chariclo Arganthone Cupid. I'm the therapist."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Cupid," Dexter smiled. Cupid albeit fainted when he kissed her hand. Handsome and a gentleman…

"Do you usually come visit?" she asked, grasping for some kind of conversation. "I don't usually see you."

"Every Tuesday I can. I love my siblings. It's good to see they're healthy and well," he replied.

Cupid almost winced at 'healthy and well'. If anything, this House was the opposite.

She heard some commotion and looked over to see Raven enter the room. Everyone had fled or cowered in fear. The witch-girl looked anything but affected by this.

Cupid turned and saw Dexter looking at Raven. Not in terror like everyone else, but in admiration.

In…

In…love.

Dexter Charming was in love.

And it wasn't with Cupid.

The therapist felt slightly sad, but love was love. And besides, she only just met him…what did she know?

"R-Raven!" Dexter stammered as Raven walked past him. The ebony-haired girl stopped and looked at him. "Um, you look gort! I-I mean, great!"

Raven looked a little confused. "Cool…" she offered him a small, slightly perplexed smile before walking off. Dexter stared after her dreamily.

Cupid watched, pushing all thoughts of him out of her mind. She had to focus on saving the teens first.

—

Hopper was walking back to his dorm when he heard someone scream, then the slam of a door.

He quickened his pace and saw Briar looking scarred for life.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I thought you were inside…turns out it was just Daring," Briar answered.

"And?"

"Well…turns out you guys weren't kidding when you said he literally loved himself. I really did not did to see that…I actually need to scrub my brain with bleach…" the brunette shivered.

Hopper felt a little bile rise up in his throat when he thought of how he had once walked in on Daring. It was not a pretty sight.

"Anyway, I'm here to take you to Cupid to discuss…the thing," Briar said, dropping her voice to a whisper.

The ginger was a bit confused by this. "You mean, 'the thing' as in how you might be lesbian?"

"For the hundredth time, I am not a lesbian!" Briar yelled. "I don't know why everyone thinks I'm not heterosexual!"

"Maybe because you think every guy is repulsive?" Hopper suggested.

Briar thought of Alastair having sex underground, Daring and what she just walked in on, Sparrow being a dick, Chase and Hunter as absolute idiots, and kind of had to agree.

"I don't think you're repulsive," she said finally.

"Well, I'm not exactly a guy."

"Holy shit! You're transgender?!"

"No! I meant I'm a Spirit…so technically I'm not a living guy," Hopper explained quickly.

"Oh. Right."

"So, what were you coming here for?" Hopper asked.

"Cupid wants us to have a talk about Grimm," Briar explained. "'Us' meaning Maddie, you, Cerise, and I."

So they went to Cupid's office, as instructed, and seated themselves down. The therapist locked the door for precautions.

"Firstly, we need to figure out why Grimm wants to kill us," Cupid said.

The four shuffled around uncomfortably at the thought of death. Finally, Maddie spoke up.

"I found something interesting when we were looking through Grimm's stuff," she started, taking out a small book. The others listened attentively.

"It says some interesting information about Spirits. They call themselves 'Souls of the Unwanted' because they believe their bodies don't want them anymore, but they are actually called 'the Spirits of the Forgotten'. The reason why they're called Spirits 'of the Forgotten' is because their appearances are forgotten from all minds who remembered them, but not their deeds," Madeline read out. She recieved blank looks.

"So for example, if Cerise was my best friend, and then she died and became a Spirit, I would remember her being my friend but not what she looked like. So that's why Grimm doesn't recongise Hopper or Cupid," she explained. "Also, Spirits look, act, and sound like normal, living humans until they are 'awakened'. 'Awakenings' can happen if they see something significant from their oast life or something that links to their past life. It also can happen if their eyeballs are gouged out, if they happen to be a 'Blind Spirit'."

Briar gave an affirmative nod at this.

"After someone dies, they can be transformed into a Spirit. There are two types of Spirits: the first type is called the 'Blind Spirits', and they don't have eyeballs. These Spirits stay on Earth because they were 'blind' to something significantly dangerous in their life. They can only return to Heaven and find peace when they help other living people overcome or defeat the very significant danger that they were 'blind' to. Hence Hopper and Cupid, and the Spirits Briar saw," Maddie continued.

"Blind Spirits will always feel inclined to help and protect people from the danger that caused their death, even without knowing they are actually doing it. This probably why Cupid wanted to be a therapist to help the people in this House, and why Hopper could 'sense' things and find Briar. Blind Spirits also bear the wounds they had during their lives, aka Cupid's wings. And Hopper's…"

"Leg," said Hopper helpfully.

"The other type of Spirit is the…" at this, Maddie gulped. "Avenging Spirit. These Spirits, whilst living, comitted a terrible crime, such as murder, theft, abuse, etcetera. They are usually reborn to have a second chance at life. However, the process used to transform them into a Spirit makes them instead have a mental disability. This makes them occassionally violent."

Everyone fell silent. They were unsure what to say, or what this meant.

"So…are we suggesting that Grimm is an Avenging Spirit?" Cupid spoke up.

"Maybe," Briar said uncertainly.

They thought about this for a long time. They had discovered important information, but what did it symbolise?

—

Madeline and Cerise walked back to their room. Cerise groaned as the hideous 'dinner bell' rang. She rubbed her ears and headed to the dining hall with Maddie.

Dinner was simple, spaghetti and chocolate mousse for dessert. Cerise eyed the House members, and wondered who was to be killed off next. After the meal, she went back to her new dorm.

It was a lot less luxurious, that was for sure. Then again, she didn't care. She'd probably die within the next month anyway. It seemed there was no escape from Grimm's clutches.

She talked with Maddie about some personal things, and read a book. It was almost time for bed soon enough, so they brushed their teeth and changed before switching off the lights.

Cerise lay down, ready to fall asleep, but sat up again, alarmed.

"Can you hear that?" she whispered in the dark.

"Hear what?" Madeline asked.

The wolf-girl shook her head and listened again. It was definitely there. "It sounds like…whirring."

She heard Maddie pad to the lights and switch them on. She blinked in the sudden bright light. Cerise suddenly caught a whiff of something strange.

"Hey, what's the weird smell?" she asked.

The brunette would have found Maddie's vigorous sniffing comical, if only she hadn't been in this situation, this place. Something fishy was going on.

The curly-haired girl shook her head. "I can't smell anything."

It was strange, considering Cerise could certainly hear and smell it.

"I'm part-wolf," she said finally. "My senses are super sensitive." She grimaced at the almost toxic scent. "Whatever the thing is, I don't think it's safe. We have to find it and get rid of it."

The two girls looked under their beds, behind furniture, and emptied out their bags. Nothing. To Cerise, the smell was getting more and more intense by the second. Maddie could only get slight whiffs of the stuff, but it was putrid.

She looked up and spotted the contraption. It looked like a mini air freshener with a fan attatched, painted expertly to blend in with the wall. "Cerise! There it is!" she cried, pointing at the machine.

Cerise frowned and took a step closer before holding her nose and stepping away, quickly. "I can't go near it. Maddie, you dismantle it."

Madeline cautiously walked closer to the strange object. She grabbed a stool from the study and propped it up under the fume-emitting device. Stepping up, she had a look at the thing.

"Should I smash it in?" she asked, unsure.

Cerise's eyes were beginning to water. Maddie stepped down from the stool, and with excellent aim, chucked it at the contraption. It bounced off.

"What the hell?" her roommate muttered in disbelief. She gave a stifled scream. "Oh godmother, it's going to suffocate me."

The shorter girl could only just smell it. It was getting stronger, but not strong enough to harm her.

She stared up at the…thing, not sure how to stop it. As she turned to Cerise, a loud, ear-splitting bang made her jump.

Cerise's eyes widened in horror. Madeline turned to see that the gas producing object had exploded of its own accord and was now spouting out deadly stark-white fumes. The scent was making her eyes sting. The ominous fog-like subtance started to flood the room.

Screaming and shivering, the two girls frantically rattled the doorknob. Locked. From outside. Actually, since when was that door even there? There was supposed to be a curtain of beads…what happened?

"Fuck!" Cerise cursed, and emitted a groan. "We have to get out of here!"

Maddie ran for the window and shoved at it. It was stuck, unable to move. She tried the ensuite doors and windows - locked as well. Frustrated, Cerise grabbed the stool and wordlessly threw it with full force at the glass. It didn't shatter.

They gasped for air, lungs burning and filling with the toxic smoke. Honestly, the two knew that they were going to die in this House. Just not so soon.

Then, to their shock and relief, their Hail Mary arrived. It came in the form of a bright white orb that shattered the window.

The crack was deafening. Shards of broken glass toppled down on the carpet. It left cuts on their legs but they couldn't care less. Cupid's face appeared, as she staggeredly flew on her tattered wings.

"Hurry!" Cupid called, frantic.

Maddie ushered Cerise out first. Almost unconscious, the brunette scrambled out blindly. Cupid caught her and deliverec her safely to the ground. Being petite, Madeline had less troubles than her roommate. She climbed out, and was met by Cupid's arms.

As the therapist delivered her down, she gave a sharp cry and fell to the grass, wings weak.

Maddie fell face first, but she recovered almost immediately. She almost sobbed at the sight of Cupid.

"Miss Cupid! Miss Cupid!" Madeline cried, shaking the shivering, drained Spirit.

"I'm fine," the pink-haired woman reassured, wincing as she stood. "Come on, we have to get Cerise to Dr. Humphrey!"

The wolf-girl was unconscious, breathing in ragged, gaspy breaths. Maddie and Cupid shouldered on of her arms each, and they dragged the wheezing girl towards the doctor's office.

Back in the building, they banged on Dr. Humphrey door, screaming their lungs out for his help. Madeline felt nausea overcome her and she struggled not to vomit.

Eventually, the doctor opened the door, freaked out, and helped Cerise to the medical bed. He pulled the curtains seperating the bed from the rest of the room shut. Madeline winced at the clanking, plastic clicking, and other noises coming from behind. She never liked hospitals.

After a while, Humphrey re-opened the curtains. Maddie stared at Cerise, connected to tubes and a breathing mask. The nausea expanded. Feeling bile rise up to her throat, she stumbled toward the conviniently placed vomit bag and spewed her stomach's contents into the plastic.

—

After the first vomit bag had been filled, and the second, and the third, Dr. Humphrey guided her towards the nearest bathroom and rubbed her back as she continued throwing up into the toilet bowl, trying not to cry. Her eyes stung wildly and she felt almost blinded. Everything felt hot and freezing at the same time. Blurry dots blinded her vision.

When her temporary vomiting had subsided, Madeline failed at her mission. She cried.

Dr. Humphrey rubbed her forearms soothingly. His cool hands felt nice on her burning skin.

"I'm sorry," she hiccupped. "I-I don't usually cry over small things."

"It's okay," he replied. "We all have once."

The door swung open. Hopper, eyes alert, rushed in, followed by a worried Briar.

"Oh godmother! I thought you'd be dead!" Briar cried, pulling Maddie into a tight hug. She rubbed the sobbing girl's back.

"It was Grimm, wasn't it?" the tall brunette whispered, once Humphrey had left the room.

Madeline nodded. "He installed some weird machine that poured out toxic gas. I couldn't stop vomiting. And Cerise is unconscious."

The three - Hopper, Maddie, and Briar - made their way into the medical room. Cerise's eyes were starting to open, just in time, as they walked in.

Madeline embraced Cerise. "You saved me! You saved us! If you hadn't smelt and heard it, we'd both be dead."

Cerise laughed hoarsely. "Thank my genetics, not me."

Maddie turned to Cupid, why was standing in the corner, and hugged the therapist. "You're our heroine, Miss Cupid. You saved us too." Cupid patted her on the head, smiling.

"We've survived a close call, haven't we?" the bedded wolf-girl said. "Although…this isn't going to be the last time."

It was a terrible, frightening subject to talk about, but Cerise was right. Grimm may have attempted to kill them once, but he would surely persevere again, until every House member was successfully murdered.

—

 **WOOOO! Did it!**

 **I'm fuckin' proud of my Spirits of the Forgotten Explaination. I honestly had no idea where the story was going until CreativeWritingSoul asked how Milton couldn't recongise Cupie and Hopper if he had murdered them before. So I thought, _hella good question_ , and fa-da! Here's the backstory. It took me ages to come up with one TBH.**

 **Anyway, here are questions! (Please answer!)**

 **1\. Why do you think Maddie's so uncomfortable with hospitals and her 'mental disability'?**

 **2\. Is Grimm an Avenging Spirit? Yea or Nay?**

 **3\. Does the Spirit explaination make sense? Might've been a little rushed. I can fix that in the next chapter if needed.**

 **4\. YA'LL NOTICED THE MADDIEXHUMPHREY!? I think they're so frickin' adorable, especially when Humphrey is mysterious and sexy. Then again who doesn't like mysterious and sexy men XD**

 **5\. YA'LL NOTICED THE BRIARXHOPPER!? If you've read my other stories, namely Popularity's Spindle and Where's My Happily Ever After, you'll know I love writing them so much. Briar has always been my bias and Hopper is so cute.**

 **6\. It seems that Humphrey's being cryptic about his past…."no one's ever tried or wanted to help me before"…strange much? What do you think he means or is implying?**

 **Anyway, remember your favourite line! Thanks everyone!**


	7. Important AN

Dear readers,

I apologise for my lack of updating. I assure you that I have not abandoned this story at all, and I would very much like to continue it.

2018 was a messy year for my brain, and the start of this year was no better, if not worse. I have not shared my biggest problems with anyone, whether on this website or in person, which may have contributed to the state I was going through at the start of this year. I won't bore you with all of the unnecessary details, but I trust you understand and maybe have been through my predicament.

On behalf of my 2018 self, I apologise for anything I've said or done in 2018 that was distasteful, rude, or stupid.

I'm really grateful for your support, patience, and reviews. They help motivate me to write.

Currently, I'm still trying to get my brain and life in order, but I hope to update soon. If you have any questions about my updating plans or anything else, feel free to PM me.

Yours,

Reade


	8. The Escape

**Chapter 7**

 **The Escape**

 **—**

Madeline's eyes followed Raven everywhere the dark girl went. There was something she couldn't place about her. Ever since Raven had somehow gotten Apple unconscious, her mind had been brimming with questions.

When she voiced this to Briar and Cerise, they weren't too surprised.

"Well, technically she excells in the dark arts," Briar had said. "So she could walk around knocking people out with one flick of her finger if she wanted."

Cerise had recounted a certain day when Raven had entered the dining room, which silenced everyone, and then cast some sort of spell so they started talking normally. "That girl isn't normal," she'd added. "We're all 'freaks', so to speak, but Raven is the freakiest."

Maddie wondered if someone with Raven's sharp wit would know about Grimm and his plot. She decided to approach her to ask, despite Briar and Cerise practically begging her not to.

Raven was seated on a violet cushion in a dark corner, which was slightly off. She was sitting cross-legged, reading thick leather book on the occult. This was more than a little unsettling to Maddie, but she didn't back off.

"Hi," she started plainly, unsure what else to say.

"Hi," Raven responded, not looking up from the dusty, thick pages.

Maddie bent down and lowered her voice. "Don't mind me asking…but I was wondering if you knew about Grimm…"

At this, Raven's head snapped up and she slapped her hands together.

Madeline jumped and looked around. Everyone was frozen in the position they'd been in, unmoving, like statues. Even the baseball that Darling had been aimlessly throwing and catching was suspended in mid-air.

"Um," she muttered.

"What do you know about Grimm?" Raven asked, stirring her out of her stupor. A chord seemed to have been struck inside the black-haired girl. She stood up suddenly and Madeline was quickly reminded how tall Raven was compared to her own short figure.

"About…the Spirits? The Souls of the Unwanted?" she responded lamely, intimidated. "About how he killed…people? And that he wants to kill _us_?"

She jumped again, startled, when Raven grabbed her shoulders. An unmistakeable flame of anger was burning inside Raven's eyes. "And how do you know about this?"

"I…we…" Maddie was speechless in fear. "We snuck into Grimm's office and saw the files? And I found books on the Spirits of the Forgotten?" She mentally cursed herself for making her voice go all high-pitched at the end of every sentence, turning her statements into questions.

Raven let go of her shoulders and tapped her chin, straightening up. "Huh. I thought I was the only one."

"Briar and Cerise and Hopper know too," Maddie added quickly. "And so does Miss Cupid." She paused. "How do you know?"

Raven sighed and shoved a still-frozen Daring off the couch, flopping down in his place. Maddie stared at the blonde - he was still in his sitting position as he lay on the floor. She was starting to really wonder about Raven's magic.

"Well, I suppose you've heard that I'm the first person to join this asylum. That's technically true," Raven started. "Grimm adopted me when I was five. Created this place so I couldn't escape. He thought I was 'dangerous' or whatever. I figured out soon enough that he wanted to kill me. Setting fire to my room and whatnot."

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Maddie asked.

"Would you believe a mentally deranged girl? That the honourable Milton Grimm was killing her?" Raven responded. "Besides, I didn't really care. He couldn't hurt me. His murder attempts were pathetic." She laughed, and drew out a matchbox from her pocket.

"Watch," the witch-girl said. She lit a match and held the hot flame to her skin. Nothing happened. Continuing her demonstration, she rolled the tip all over her bare arm, wrapped her hand around the fire, but she was unscathed. And the flame didn't burn out, either.

"So there," Raven concluded, blowing out the match. "I'm practically invincible. I only have one weakness, that's all. And Grimm will never find it out." She said this in a strangely casual manner, as she returned Daring to his seat and went back to her cushion, crossing her legs up.

Maddie found herself bending down to say something, and then realised - this was the same position she and Raven had been in when Raven had 'frozen' everyone. As if hearing her thoughts, Raven clapped her hands, and everyone was back to normal, as if they hadn't become statues. The room was filled with the white noise of chattering.

"Well…what's your weakness?" Maddie asked.

Raven shrugged. "That's for you to find out."

—

Cupid let out a melancholic sigh, gazing out at the night sky. Her curly powder-pink tresses brushed over her forearms.

"Miss Cupid? Are you okay?" Cerise asked from the bed, rolling over to face the therapist.

Cupid rested her elbows on the windowsill, squinting at a star in the distance. "That's where my family is. That's Heaven," she said, pointing at the star.

The wolf-girl narrowed her eyes, pupils dilating as she did so. "Oh, that's right. I can see it."

The therapist buried her head in her arms. "I just want to see them again. I just want to go home." She stifled a wet sob.

Cerise felt a pang at her heart, pupils regaining her roundness as she took her eyes off Heaven. "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you apologising?" Cupid laughed. It was genuine, despite the tears pouring down her face. "It's not your fault. It's Grimm's."

The brunette sat up as Cupid glowed with furious energy. Her hands were clenched into fists, teeth gritted. She had never seen the kind-hearted woman so angry. If she had to be honest, Cerise felt slightly scared.

Cupid turned to her. There were literal flames dancing in her eyes. "I hate him so much. He took away everything from me. My family. My life. My chance. My honour." Her skin flushed a shade of red - bright scarlet. "One day I'll find a way to kill Spirits. And then…I'll kill him. I'll destroy him with everything I have!"

Her voice echoed across the small room.

Eventually, her skin returned to its normal, plain colour, and she had relatively calmed down. "This is why I need to help you. So I can help myself too." She smiled, eyes curling into happy commas. "Goodnight, Cerise. I'll see you tomorrow."

She shut the lights as she exited, and Cerise was left with her own thoughts. Cupid had radiated a kind of fury she hadn't seen in years.

What Grimm had done was pretty despicable - that much was obvious. But Cupid had been completely, utterly hostile.

What if it was deeper than that?

What if he hadn't just killed Cupid and robbed her of her happiness? What if he had done something else as well? Something even worse?

—

Maddie sat down next to Cerise at the breakfast table. Briar was seated opposite them, stirring her milk with a fork for some unbeknownst reason.

"What are you doing?" Madeline asked.

"Checking for poison," the brunette whispered. She took out her fork and studied it with a strange intensity that seemed too serious for her usual snarky attitude.

Suddenly, the room fell silent as heavy footsteps appeared down the corridor.

Cerise's eyes widened, and her pupils dilated again. "Oh, shit."

"Grimm…" Briar growled, stabbing her toast viciously with the fork.

Everyone straightened up and wiped their mouths, swallowing the rest of their breakfast and their dignity.

The dreaded man stood in the doorway, eyes roaming over the various terrified faces until he rested on two.

Madeline and Cerise.

"Miss Hood. Miss Hatter. May I have a word with you?"

Maddie felt her heart thump harder than it should. "Y-Yes, sir."

His eyes travelled to Raven, who was standing up as well. "Miss Queen, what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm coming too." Her voice was defiant.

"What? Are you concerned for their safety or some other ridiculous reasoning?" he frowned, almost snickering at the idea.

"Well, considering Cerise and Madeline almost died two nights ago, she'd be naturally worried. Instinct, you know?" Briar answered suddenly.

Raven's eyes bored into Grimm's, and the room temperature immediately dropped.

"And what do you mean by that?" he asked Briar, each word dripping with malice.

Hopper glanced warningly at Briar, but she ignored him. "There was a strange device installed in their dorm room. The very night Cerise moved in. I don't think this is just a coincidence, sir. There is something - or someone - dangerous in this House."

"Oh really?" Grimm responded. "And what do you think that might be?" He was eerily calm as he directed his attention to each of the two girls.

Raven didn't even falter. "I don't know." After a beat, she continued. "Seems a bit unre _lia_ ble, wouldn't you think?"

She stressed the part ' _liar'_ just slightly, so no one but Cerise and Grimm heard it. It was pretty obvious what she was saying.

Grimm continued staring Raven down.

A few minutes of silence passed.

"I agree completely, Miss Beauty, Miss Queen," he replied, smiling. Raven and Briar, two people who wouldn't have ever liked each other under different circumstances, exchanged a surprised look, but chose not to believe it. "Now, please sit back down, Miss Queen."

"Of course, sir," Raven answered, giving an equally kind smile - rare for someone like her. "Thank you for being considerate." She curtseyed and took her seat.

And just like that, Grimm left, not even talking to Cerise and Maddie.

"That was close," Maddie murmured as the chatter started up again once the House owner had disappeared. "It actually worked."

Cerise glanced towards Raven, not exactly sure why the girl had decided to take their side. But she was an interesting and useful ally, at least.

—

Cerise pressed herself against the wall, wondering if she was being delirious.

What Cupid had said the night before had struck a chord inside her. Grimm had heaps of those little books that Maddie had gotten the information on the Spirit of. And they were all in his office.

She was going to sneak in again.

The keys were clutched in her hands as she neared the door of the hallway. Jamming in the key, she quietly pulled it open and creeped in.

Cerise was a born predator. She was completely silent. She shut the heavy door behind her and stayed pressed against the wall as she continued her daring - or idiotic, depending which way you saw it - mission.

She was almost there. Good. Feeling a satisfied smirk grace her features, she prepared to leap out.

Before she could, though, she was taken by surprise.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Cerise jumped. A million curse words raced through her head. She struggled to think up an excuse as she turned around slowly, shoving the keys in her back pocket.

"Cedar?" she gasped. "What are you doing here?"

Cedar blinked once, twice. "Grimm asked to see me." Cerise knew this was the truth. "What about you?"

"He asked to see me too," the brunette lied. "What's he seeing you for?"

"I don't know." Another honest answer.

Cerise suddenly felt a sense of dread, and cursed herself for not noticing sooner. Grimm had called Cedar so she could kill her! Damnit, she needed to help her!

"I…suggest you don't go," she started, slowly, trying not to sound like a weirdo.

"Why not?" the dark-skinned girl's tone was confused and oddly innocent.

"Um…"

Cedar patted Cerise reassuringly, startling the wolf-girl. "It's okay, Cerise. He sees me all the time."

"Oh, that's fine…wait, what?"

Her predator instincts kicked him, and her pupils dilated once more. Whenever she was squinting or thinking, they just did. "Why would he see you all the time?"

"Because…" and to Cerise's shock, Cedar actually hesitated. "I can't tell you."

"But—" If it was physcially possible, her pupils dilated even more. "But you have to…"

"Who said so?" Cedar said, and she frowned. "It's none of your business, Cerise."

The brunette watched, perplexed, as the non-liar disappeared over the corner. Deciding she was done with suspicion for the day, she exited the hallway.

But she hadn't stopped thinking about Cedar. What was going on? Cedar hadn't lied, per se…but she'd dodged the truth.

—

Kitty's official funeral was on Monday.

All the House Members congregated around a single wooden coffin, covered in lavender silk.

Madeline hadn't known the girl very well, and her death had been nothing but predictable for the three of them. It was a terrible thing, though, that she had to pass away under such horrendous circumstances.

Maddie didn't own much black, so she'd borrowed one of Raven's knitted black shawls to drape over her formal grey dress that she'd packed on a whim. She never thought she'd be using it, especially for...this.

There were a couple of people physically crying, but everyone else just mourned in silence. Cerise was eyeing Cedar worriedly.

"Is something wrong?" Maddie whispered to her.

Cerise shook her head, even though her expression gave away her true feelings. Maddie decided not to push the subject, and instead tried to have a silent mental memorial for her feline-ish friend.

She was having trouble concentrating however, as Apple's distasteful and eardrum-threatening caterwauling filled the air.

The blonde was currently draping herself all over Dr. Humphrey, who was ignoring her and instead consulting with an autopsy doctor.

"Apple impresses me," Darling murmured to Maddie.

"Which part?"

"Her lung capacity."

Briar was uninterestingly reading a large...dictionary.

"Why are you reading...that?" Hopper inquired.

Briar momentarily lifted the book off her lap to show one of Grimm's small notebooks about the Occult underneath the dictionary. "It's a disguise."

"Right. You realise how weird you look reading that dictionary, right?" he deadpanned.

"We literally live in an asylum. I think I'll manage."

Madeline and Cerise took a seat next to Briar, both uncharacteristically solemn. "Can I just ask something?" Maddie spoke up, lowering her voice considerably. "Wouldn't our parents be concerned because of all of the…deaths in this House? Wouldn't our relatives…care?"

Briar and Cerise exchanged a look, before sighing, as if defeated. "You don't know, do you?" Cerise responded.

"Know what?"

"We're only sent to this place as a last resort, when hospitals and rehab and therapy can't cure us. Sending us here is basically our parents giving up on us. They wouldn't care if we died anyway," Cerise said. "And there are a few exceptions, like Darling and Daring - probably Rosabella too, Lizzie, and Kitty - I can't remember all of them right now - they were sent here because their families believed that it was the only way to give them protection."

"Give who protection? Us? Or the outside world?" Hopper asked. His tone was innocent, but the words were bitter.

"I don't know. But sometimes, even our families think that us dying is for the best. That's how much we matter. They don't kill murderers and rapists, but they kill us. The mentally disabled. As if we've chosen to be messed-up." Cerise shook her head. "The world is crazy. Besides, Grimm's powerful. Really powerful. He can control the richest businessmen like they're puppets. There's no use fighting against him. All the parents believe he's good and virtuous."

"But—" Maddie paused. "But we have to do something, right? We're just watching everyone get killed. You and I, we almost got killed. Next time we might not be so lucky."

"I mean, what do we do to stop Grimm? Kick him in the nuts and get killed the next morning?" Cerise responded sarcastically. "We have no contact to the outside world. Not even Cupid or Humphrey do."

"Everyone here kind of…expects to die, one way or another. Why do you think everyone does whatever they want all day now? Might as well live it up now before you die," Briar pointed out.

That was true. As far as Maddie was concerned, the only thing she'd seen the House members do was laze around, play aimless games, or do something extremely inappropriate (like Alastair and Bunny, Rosabella with her Zootopia film clips, and Daring). This saddened her, to think that everyone had been degraded and demoralised so much that they didn't feel like fighting for their lives anymore.

"Miss Cupid seems like she has a plan," Hopper offered.

"She's got a plan to fuck shit up with Grimm, that's for sure," Cerise replied. "Have you guys ever seen Miss Cupid angry?"

They shook their heads.

"Well, it's pretty scary." She gazed at the storm clouds up in the sky, and blew a tendril of brown hair off her face. "All I know is that she hates Grimm with every fibre of her body."

"I'm sure Socrates once said something about hate being the greatest fuel to action. Or something." Briar waved dismissively. "Anyhow, I trust Miss Cupid to do something about it. She wouldn't have gathered us all in her office for nothing."

"What about Raven?" Madeline asked. "She seems…like she knows something." She regretted it the instant it came out of her mouth. Cerise shot her a questioning glance, and Briar raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"She seems like…like she knows how to defeat Grimm. I don't know. I'm babbling." The two brunettes looked interested, however, so Maddie continued. "Raven's invincible. She was telling me about it today. She has this…this power over everything. Like, magic. And apparently Grimm's attempted to kill her a bunch of times, but she hasn't died. And she's immune to fire. She's probably immune to a lot of things." She paused to catch a breath. "Sorry. I know it sounds like absolute nonsense."

"Our therapist has wings, Maddie," Cerise deadpanned - if it was physically possible, she seemed to deadpan in a kind way. "I think we've seen enough supernatural stuff to believe it."

Briar nodded in agreement.

"Besides, Raven's always struck me as…powerful," the wolf-girl continued. "I came here as a kid. Raven was the first one there, and even as a little girl, she was…" she shivered. "She had this air of power around her. People called her a witch, but she just reminded me of a fairy queen. She did whatever the hell she wanted, and she seemed to be magical. Every day at dinner, after I finished my steak, she grabbed my plate, left the room, and came back with another full plate so I could eat more. She was always offering me four-leaf clovers that seemed to just appear in her hair. She scattered coloured stones all around my room, and I never had nightmares about being abandoned by Mama and Papa when those stones were in my room. We were close, you know. Really close. Then more people came, and we grew apart."

Cerise took out a handful of glittering stones from her pocket. They were smooth, layered, and embedded with glittering chunks. All of them were a dark maroon colour. The stones seemed to pulse with energy, and they were warm when Maddie experimentally touched one.

"Did something happen between the two of you? You seem really distant," Briar said.

Cerise returned the stones to her pocket a bit too quickly to seem calm. "Nothing. We're fine." Her voice was quivering.

Hopper spoke up suddenly, sounding terrified. "Crap. What's Ms Cheshire going to do when she finds out that Kitty's…dead?"

Cerise and Briar froze. "Shit, how did I forget?" Briar cursed.

"What?"

"Ms Cheshire really, really loves Kitty. Grimm and Ms Cheshire basically had a tug-o-war over her. She's going to kill him," Briar groaned.

Something about that sentence struck Madeline as odd. "Hold on - why was Grimm so desperate to get Kitty here? If he's an Avenging Spirit, what connection does it have to us?"

"Good fucking question," Briar said. "If he's an Avenging Spirit, maybe he's super obsessed with killing people, and this was just the easiest way to do it - to open an asylum. As for why he was so desperate to get Kitty - well, maybe the more people he kills, the better he feels."

"That is messed up on around thirty different levels."

Suddenly, Briar was thrown into a violent coughing fit, as if she was choking on something. She slapped a handkerchief over her mouth and winced, before gingerly peering down at the disturbingly large amount blood on it. The handkerchief was almost soaked in the bright red liquid.

Silence.

"So I guess I'm the next on his to-kill list," Briar commented.

"I knew something was in that breakfast. It smelled…off," Cerise replied eventually, shaking her head as if trying to get rid of the sensation. "Briar, you don't feel terrible, don't you?"

"Dying isn't exactly on my the top of my priorities list right now," Briar replied, before gagging. "I've been fed all sorts of medical drugs since I was a baby. My parents thought it was the only way to cure my mental illness. Coughing up my lungs is nothing new."

"Don't die on us," Cerise said finally.

"I sure hope I don't."

—

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHE'S DEAD?! SHE'S MY DAUGHTER! MY BABY! GIVE HER BACK, YOU SICK SON OF A BITCH!"

"Here it comes," Cerise whispered to Maddie.

A loud crashing sound, like hundreds of bones being smashed broken, resounded inside Cerise's ears. She winced.

"It's eleven at night," Madeline replied from her bed, sitting up. "It's Ms Cheshire, isn't it?"

"I'm trying to get my beauty sleep!" Apple shrieked from somewhere else in the building.

"Beauty sleep? It ain't working, princess!" Darling shouted back.

"Obviously not, when someone's causing such a racket!" Apple retorted, huffing loudly for the world to hear.

"I'm trying to get my beauty sleep too!" Daring yelled passionately from the boys' dormitory.

Maddie heard the door leading to the corridor of the girls' dormitory squeaking open. "Calm down, girls. We're dealing with it," Cupid's therapeutic voice soothed. Somewhere in the distance, there came another smash.

"Miss Cupid, what's Ms Cheshire breaking?" Cerise called.

Miss Cupid was silent for a moment. "Everything."

Silence.

"Go back to sleep, girls! It'll be over before you know it!" Miss Cupid chirped. The girls responded with sleepy mumbles.

Silently, Miss Cupid brushed back the beaded curtain leading into Cerise and Maddie's room. "Hello, girls," she whispered.

"Is something up?" Cerise whispered back.

Miss Cupid turned to the beaded curtain and beckoned someone in. Briar hurriedly stepped through, dressed in sport shoes, Under Armour leggings, and a sweatshirt, clutching a suitcase and looking thoroughly confused. "Miss Cupid, why did you tell me to—"

"One second, Briar," Cupid said.

She clapped her hands together and closed her eyes, as if she was about to pray. A bright pink light started radiating from her fingers, tendrils of the magic wafting up like pink smoke. Then she suddenly raised her arms, and shot the glowing flamingo-coloured orb at the ceiling. It hit the ceiling beams, before curling over. It was like watching an arched vault being weaved from pink glass. Within seconds, Cerise, Maddie, Briar, and Cupid were covered by a glistening dome.

"I didn't know you could do that," Madeline whispered.

"No need to whisper anymore, girls," Miss Cupid said, loudly and clearly. "I've secured a soundproof privacy dome over us - no one will be able to see or hear us." She took a deep breath. "Girls, it's time to escape from this asylum."

Cerise kicked off her blankets and leapt up. "What?"

"Ms Cheshire has destroyed a part of the gate, and Grimm's preoccupied. It's the perfect chance for the three of you to escape. We couldn't have asked for a better opportunity." Miss Cupid snapped her fingers. Three black backpacks appeared from thin air, and landed with a thump on the ground. "Pack whatever you want into these bags. I've infused them with magic, so they can hold an infinite amount of belongings, yet still remain light." She nodded to Briar, who now realised why Miss Cupid had asked her to bring over her suitcase.

Madeline shook her head, heart thumping. This was too sudden, too serious. She wasn't made for this type of stuff.

"I thought you couldn't use magic," Briar spoke up, confused.

"I stole some of Humphrey's. I'll return it later." This only seemed to prompt more questions from Briar, but the brunette wisely remained silent. Maddie was equally confused and intrigued. Miss Cupid checked her watch. "We haven't much time. Ms Cheshire can probably stall Grimm for another fifteen minutes. Dress lightly, in clothes that are easy to move around in."

Cerise dug out her plaid hoodie, shorts, and combat boots. "Miss Cupid, what do we do when we've escaped? We can't defeat Grimm that easily. What about the other House members? We can't leave them behind."

"I'm well aware, Cerise," Miss Cupid replied seriously. "That's why you are to visit one of my closest friends, who knows exactly what to do in this situation. He has a solution planned, and you three will carry it out. I've imbedded his address into an instruction book in Briar's backpack. For now, the most important thing to do is for you three to escape." She rubbed her temples. "I'm sorry this is so hasty and abrupt. This is probably hard on you girls, but the sooner we defeat Grimm, the better."

Madeline shrugged on a purple pullover over her t-shirt and leggings. "But Miss Cupid, what about you? Are you coming with us?"

"No. I need to stay here and make sure that Grimm doesn't take his anger out on any of the other House members."

Briar furrowed her eyebrows as she took out a rope ladder from her suitcase and draped it over the window sill. "But how? He's so powerful and heavily skilled…"

"I'll get him to take it out on me," Miss Cupid replied simply.

The three girls stared at each other, horrified. "Miss Cupid, no…"

"Girls." She smiled and held out backpacks to each of them. "You are now on your own. I can assist you no further. But I must say, all three of you are spectacular, brave, and honourable young women."

The three girls were frozen for what seemed like eternity.

Madeline moved first. She ran forward and hugged Miss Cupid, squeezing her eyes shut. "Thank you." The short girl dug around in her drawer and pulled out a pouch full of teabags. "My dad gave them to me before he left. They seem like normal teabags, but if you soak one and rub it on a bruise or cut, it will instantly heal."

Miss Cupid smiled and pocketed them. "Thank you."

Briar stepped up next. She took off her necklace, bracelets, earrings, and hairpin, and handed them to Miss Cupid. "Each seperate piece of jewellery in this collection costs millions of dollars. You should sell them, and use the money."

"Thank you very much."

Cerise swallowed. She stepped forward and emptied a handful of the glittering, smooth red stones into Miss Cupid's hands. "I know this isn't much, but…please take it."

Miss Cupid smiled. "Thank you. With these, I can recharge my magic. And maybe Humphrey's."

Maddie shrugged the bag onto her shoulders. After emptying her entire inventory into the bag, it was still light. "Miss Cupid, I've been meaning to ask you - are you are Dr Humphrey very close friends?"

Miss Cupid blinked as she led the girls over to the rope ladder dangling out of the window. "Oh - I haven't told you, have I? He's my little brother."

—

The night air was terribly cold, and the wind whipped around Briar's ponytail. She quickly finished tying Maddie's twin braids. "That should do it," she whispered.

The three girls uttered their final goodbyes to Miss Cupid. Briar and Maddie crouched behind the tall wall of the asylum building. This was the last time they would see it - at least for a long time.

Cerise sprinted soundlessly across the grass, leapt up, and catapulted over the half-wrecked gate, so effortlessly that it seemed like she was flying. She silently unscrewed the lock on the other side and pushed the gate open, nodding at Briar and Maddie.

The two curly-haired girls ran across to Cerise, making sure to be as quiet as possible. Once they had exited the gate, Briar locked it up again, casting one final look at the House of Twisted Ever Afters. It looked almost like a castle, a great silver giant crouching against thickets of trees. The sky was a colossal, black velvet table cloth, with pinpricks of stars winking through the darkness.

Madeline glanced at the address Miss Cupid had given them. "I know that place," she realised, surprised. She pointed towards the right. "That way. It will take us maybe a day or so on foot."

Cerise smiled suddenly, something that she rarely did. "Well, what are we waiting for, then?"

…

 **Hey everyone: greatest apologies that this took so long to write - I tried to make it longer than usual. Thank you all for patiently waiting. :3 To be honest, I'm not too sure if anyone reads this anymore. If you do, please leave a review with your favourite line, as per usual.**

 **So, the girls have finally** **escaped! What do you think about it? Who do you think Miss Cupid's mysterious friend is?**

 **Anything sound interesting to you? The House of Twisted Ever Afters as a last resort of teens; Raven's magic potential and her childhood with Cerise; Miss Cupid and Dr Humphrey being siblings and wielding magic; anything else that intrigues or surprises you, I'd love to hear what you think in the review!**

 **If you're having trouble keeping up with the story, probably re-read it. I know it's been ages since I've written.**

 **Thank you for your replies to the questions I've asked. As of now, I won't answer them - you'll have to continue reading to find out (shameless advertising; nevertheless)**

 **Response to reviews -**

 **Creative Writing Soul: I don't think anyone envies Hopper right now xD - and I didn't realise the irony until you mentioned it. Also, Apple. I always have a blast making her obnoxious, she's my least favourite (sue me), unashamedly. Same goes for Daring, the only role he has in this story is a rather disturbing comic relief.**

 **XxGalaxyUnicornLovexX: Your review's even bigger than Apple's lung capacity! Maddie x Humphrey is indeed bae, cannot argue on that. Oh, and I'm sure Apple would continue throwing herself at Humphrey until she gets the jist. All of your observations are true - Grimm is going to be smoking mad when he realises that he's actually failed. And Humphrey and Cupid could very well be in danger, but as far as Grimm's concerned, they are both oblivious to his ploy, and therefore, he may render getting rid of them as unnecessary (also, we all need Haddie and Cupid ;) so eliminating them is a no-go!)**

 **Hollowmist: Thank you, I'm glad you think so. :3**

 **Thanks for reading! I will attempt to update ASAP!**

 **\- Reade**


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